The Long Way Home
by TinyDancer365
Summary: *Fifth Installment* Four months after the events of Bloodlines, the Mystic Falls gang must reconsider what home means to them. A new widow, Cassandra will now have to pick up the pieces of her broken life and raise her daughter without Damon. While in another universe, Damon and Bonnie are trying everything they can to make it back to the ones they love. Rated M for a reason.
1. I'll Remember

**The Long Way Home**

 **Chapter 1: I'll Remember**

 **Beta:** **PrincessOfSilence**

 **Disclaimer:** **I own nothing of TVD. I only own my characters and my story.**

* * *

 _ **Four Months Later**_

 _Two Teens Attacked in Woods. Wild Animal to Blame._

A pair of tired brown eyes scanned over the breaking news article that was splayed on the front page of the paper. It had been a long while since a headline like this graced the pages of the Mystic Falls Courier, but it was a cause for some raised eyebrows and elaborate theories. The picture that matched the headline showed the crime scene where this alleged animal attack had occurred; the trees were decorated with caution tape and some officers were photographed taking evidence.

Cassandra was so enthralled by the photo and article that she nearly forgot about the bouncing baby on her lap. Ava drummed her tiny hands on the surface of the table and tried to crumple up the newspaper that was taking all of mommy's attention away from her. Cassandra ever so carefully took it out of Ava's fists and went back to feeding her, but her brown eyes were scanning over the crinkled words. Since no supernaturals were allowed in Mystic Falls, an animal had to be the cause of the killing. Her reading time was cut short, however, when drops of mushy vegetables dribbled onto the newspaper.

"You are such a messy eater," Cassandra sighed and cleaned up her daughter's lips with a napkin. Ava babbled happily and Cassandra kissed her cheeks.

 _Yeah, she's a messy eater, but how could I stay mad at that face? Hopefully when she gets older, Ava will have developed better table manners. I suppose I do have to give her some slack, she's only four months old. It seems impossible to me that four months have passed. It feels like yesterday when Ava was just born. It's also been four months since Damon and Bonnie died. Some days, I'm not quite sure how I've been able to pick up the pieces of my life, but I've had a lot of help along the way._

Ava's boisterous shriek brought Cassandra from her meddling mind and she smiled at Vanessa made her presence known in the kitchen. The blonde vampire had traded her overgrown locks for a much shorter and edgier hairstyle. Her new look reminded Cassandra of Tinkerbell, but without the wings. Vanessa waltzed into the kitchen and peppered Ava's cheeks with kisses, making the baby giggle loudly in her highchair.

 _Vanessa has been such a help with Ava. I really couldn't ask for anyone else to help out and I am so grateful to her. Anything I need, she's there for me. She feeds Ava, changes her, plays with her. We really have become a team when it comes to taking care of Ava and it always helps to have an extra set of hands around the house. Ava absolutely adores her and Vanessa can't get enough of her little butterball._

"Hey! Is Miss Ava done with her breakfast?" Vanessa asked. "I can take her for a walk in her stroller."

"I can do it," Cassandra offered and unlatched the table on the highchair. She scooped up Ava and cuddled her close.

"No, you did it yesterday." The blonde vampire set up Ava's stroller by the door before coming back to take Ava in her arms. "Which means, that I get to today."

Cassandra kissed Ava's forehead once she was situated in her stroller and looked to her friend. "Are you sure?"

Vanessa opened up the front door and nodded. "Of course I'm sure; I'll take her out for a bit and you can get some work done around the house."

"Okay." She nodded and once the door closed, she let out a breath and turned to the messy kitchen. "Alright. Let's get started."

The hybrid whizzed through the kitchen like a tornado, picking up plates and utensils, rinsing them off in the sink and placing them in the dishwasher. She cleaned off the table and counters and put the container of orange juice in the refrigerator. As much as she loved to spend time with Ava, she enjoyed having some time to get things done around the house.

 _All three of us are living in a house a few miles off the border of Mystic Falls. It's a charming little place; not nearly as big as the boarding house, but we're all comfortable here. It's a two story house with a front porch and a backyard with a flower garden. Everything in the house is new since all the appliances and decor are still in the boarding house and have been for the past four months. It's been a transition for all of us to move on and some were doing better than others._

 _Elena is a sophomore at Whitmore and she just started in the medical program this fall. I had no doubts that she would get in, of course, but she's been doing really well with her studies. I'm proud of her; she's going to make a great doctor someday. Plus, with her access to the blood bank, I can happily say that Vanessa and I are not starving. Interestingly enough, Elena is studying under the same doctor who looked after me when Enzo pushed me on my stomach. Dr. Laughlin, I think her name was. Elena says she's tough, but fair, so I'm sure she's getting a wonderful education._

A small group of wide-eyed medical students walked the halls of Whitmore hospital. They were donned in maroon polos, khaki pants, and ID badges hanging around their necks as they followed their professor. They stopped beside one of the rooms and the professor turned to them with an expectant look on her face.

"Pop quiz. Mr. Weatherly complains of chest pain and shortness of breath. Can anyone tell me what tests we run?" Her question made some of the students look down at their feet, unsure of the answer and not wanting to be called on. One enthusiastic male student lifter his hand, but Dr. Laughlin overlooked him.

"Gilbert," she called and a frazzled Elena looked up. Her fellow students eyed her and Elena regained her composure to answer.

"Uh...a pulmonary angiogram provides a clear picture of the blood flow in the arteries of the lungs, which is what we look for in a pulmonary embolism; a condition in which Mr. Weatherly's symptoms are common." She replied and Dr. Laughlin nodded approvingly.

"Good. Somebody's read ahead; remember that. You'll need that in 3 years." Elena smiled brightly, clearly very pleased with herself, but her expression dissipated swiftly when Dr. Laughlin handed her a bed pan from a nearby cart. "Here's the bedpan you need to know about today."

Elena took it and Dr. Laughlin led the students along down the hallway. She followed and turned when one of them tapped her on the shoulder.

"I was impressed."

"Thanks."

 _Sadly, Caroline dropped out of Whitmore while Tyler enrolled. I guess she's trying to grasp onto whatever memories she has left of Mystic Falls. I have to hand it to Caroline, even after everything that has happened, she still remains positive. Tyler is doing well, considering he's not a hybrid anymore. He'd had to adjust to a full schedule of classes and football practice too. Alaric also works at Whitmore as an occult studies professor since he couldn't get a job at the high school at Mystic Falls._

 _Elena and Stefan are taking somewhat of a break since she told him that she needed time after losing Bonnie, but I think Stefan was the one to make the first move. Elena was a bit blindsided by his decision to leave, but he had told her that even being close to Mystic Falls held too many memories of his brother. Oh, how I can relate. From what little communication they've had, Elena tells me that Stefan is chasing down a lead that can bring Damon and Bonnie back. He's out in Savannah, Georgia of all places, but I don't know how his search is going; it would help if he actually returned any of my calls._

Stefan rolled over in his bed and into the arms of a brunette girl. Both were naked, with the covers pooled around their waists. He smiled sweetly at her and she leaned forward, placing her lips on his. He wound his fingers in her hair and pulled her closer.

 _Like, any of my calls._

 _Anyway, Matt is training with the academy in Mystic Falls since he's just about the only person allowed in Mystic Falls. Well, him and Jeremy. I'm told that Mystic Falls is just as we left it and the crime rate is down which is always a good thing. Jeremy is...well, Jeremy. He hasn't been taking Bonnie's death well and Elena is really worried about him._

Matt opened the door to the Lockwood Mansion and tossed his gear bag in the foyer. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and kicked off his shoes before traipsing into the kitchen. He grabbed an ice cold water bottle from the fridge and nearly chugged the entire thing. He'd had a good day at training today and was awfully proud of himself until he walked into the living room. For starters, the room was a mess: empty pizza boxes were everywhere, dirty clothes were on the floor and beer bottles were on the table. To top it all off, Jeremy was making out with an unknown girl on his lap. Matt simply rolled his eyes and jogged upstairs to shower.

 _As for me, I'm doing as well as I can. It helps to have Ava and Vanessa around me pretty much all of the time. It's when I have time to myself is when I spiral downward. I can't help it. I just lost my husband, my best friend, my first love. How can someone just get over that? It's impossible. I think about him every second of every day. I think about him even more when I see Ava. She's so much like him and not just as far as looks are concerned. She loves attention from anyone who will give it to her and gets quite fussy when she doesn't get it. She can be very stubborn and set in her ways as much as a four month old can be set in their own ways. I love her more than life itself, but sometimes it's hard to look at her, especially since her blue eyes are exactly like his. I just wish Damon could see how much she's grown. It hasn't been easy raising her._

The winds howled outside, making the branches scratching and tapping against the windows like long fingernails belonging to the witches who scared children in fairytales and Ava only screamed louder in her mother's rocking embrace. Her screeches tore Cassandra's heart to pieces that she couldn't protect her little girl from the fear of the storm brewing. She adjusted Ava in her arms, so that her tiny head would be cuddled in the crook of her mother's neck and Cassandra peppered Ava's head with soft kisses.

"Shh, it's okay, baby," she cooed softly and turned herself away from the windows. Her voice wavered with extreme guilt that she couldn't get her daughter to stop crying.

"Mommy's got you." But Ava wasn't feeling coddled at all. She continued to fuss and cry and wriggle and wail as the storm grew. Cassandra felt a lump growing in her throat and she wanted to cry herself.

 _Sometimes, I have to wonder how I am handling this all alone. How do I find the strength to get up every day and do what I have to do? The truth is, I have to. As hard as it is, I have to keep going. Maybe it's that little shred of hope that Stefan will find a lead to bring Damon and Bonnie home. Whatever it is, it's keeping me going even during the hardest of times._

* * *

Over the following days, Cassandra's mind still reeled over the article she'd seen in the paper. She kept it in the back of her underwear drawer in her room. She'd look at it at night when she was robbed of sleep or when she would put Ava down for her nap. She knew that the whole "animal attack" was a cover-up for something else; it just had to be. Could a vampire have done this? The article did say that the teens were just outside of Mystic Falls, so it could have been a vampire. But who? None of the vampires that had been kicked out of Mystic Falls went hungry because of Elena's connections at the blood bank. Could this be a new vampire? A new threat to the town's safety?

Cassandra shook aside the handful of unanswered questions in her head and put the article on her nightstand. A sense of worry clouded her mind as her gaze remained glued to the picture. The threat of new vampires being so close to her temporary home made her antsy. She was sure that the news of Ava's birth reached vampires across the world, but had some come with the intentions of seeing with their own eyes? Whether they were here as friends or foes, Cassandra knew that she had to keep her eyes and ears open for Ava's sake.

She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts until she found the one that she wanted, but her thumb hesitated for a few moments before pressing down on the name. The phone rang three times and Cassandra was ready to hang up when the person on the other line finally picked up.

 _"Well, well, well. Your name showing up on my caller ID is a sight for sore eyes."_

A bright smile pulled at the hybrid's lips and she flopped down on the bed. "How are you doing, Liz?"

 _"I'm good."_ She replied. _"I'm actually sitting here with my lovely daughter."_

 _"Is that Cassandra?"_ Caroline's chipper voice could be heard in the background.

 _"She's practically begging to talk to you."_ Liz chuckled.

"Tell her I'll talk to her in a minute, but I've gotta ask you something first," she said.

 _"Sure. Shoot."_

Cassandra's nimble fingers plucked up the article. "Those two teens that were found in the woods..."

 _"Yeah?"_

"It says an animal attacked them, but you and I both know that is a cover-up for vampires." She continued. "I have to ask, do you really think it was an animal?"

Liz thanked the gods that there was no one else around them, but she still checked for good measure before answering. _"They were admitted to the hospital with suspicious looking wounds on their necks."_

"But vampires can't enter Mystic Falls."

 _"No, but they can lurk around the boarder,"_ the Sheriff said. _"Look, I've got my best guys on it. We're gonna get to the bottom of it."_

"Thanks Liz." She sighed, a bit of her anxiousness was put at ease.

 _"How's the baby? Caroline shows me pictures of her."_ Happiness could be traced in Liz's voice. _"She's a real cutie."_

"She's good. She just went down for her nap," Cassandra said.

 _"Now, before my daughter pulls my arm off, here's the phone. Oh, and if you have any other questions, give me a call."_ Liz then handed the phone to Caroline who wasted no time.

 _"As Ava's aunt, I am not satisfied with just pictures. A baby that cute needs to be enjoyed in person."_ She whined.

"Hi Care." The hybrid grinned. "I'll bring her around soon. I promise."

 _"Well, good. You can make good on your promise by joining me for lunch."_

"Ava is napping now."

 _"So, then just bring yourself,"_ she replied. _"Ric is coming too and he's still a little iffy around people especially with having to readjust to being a vampire again."_

"Okay. Then, it's a date." The hybrid smiled. "I'll see you soon."

 _"Bye!"_

Cassandra ended the call and tossed her phone in her bag. Taking one last look at the article, she stuffed it away in her drawer and opened up her closet doors. The one good thing about starting over was that she was able to compel herself a brand new wardrobe and the contractors of the house to put in a walk-in closet. One thing was for certain, if they were able to get back to Mystic Falls, she'd need six U-Hauls to get everything out of her closet.

She slipped herself into a short coral dress and she emerged from her bathroom with some subtle make-up on. She padded around her room barefoot as she looked for a pair of tan wedges. She remembered wearing them earlier in the week, but she forgot where she put them. She swept under the bed and backtracked into her closet in hopes of finding them. She vaguely recognized a black box on one of the higher shelves, so she jumped up and knocked it down with her hand. She was able to catch the shoe box, but her clumsiness managed to hit another box onto the floor. She immediately froze in her spot and focused her hearing to the room next door which was Ava's nursery. The benefit of super sensitive hearing meant no need for baby monitors. Cassandra heard Ava turn over in her sleep and she let out a sigh of relief that she was still sleeping.

Cassandra set the tan wedges aside and she got on her knees to scoop up the other box. To her dismay, it wasn't filled with shoes, but with pictures. Pictures she'd meant to organize in an album; pictures of her and her Damon. She'd gotten the pictures from Matt Donavan, of all people, and she stuffed them in a box so she wouldn't have to look at them. When he visited her, he presented her with the stack of photos, telling her that he'd gone in the boarding house during a run. He explained that he grew up never knowing who his father was and how that pained him even to this day. He wanted Ava to have pictures of her father and to never feel the hurt he had to experience. Overcome by emotion, Cassandra hugged so tightly that Matt could barely lift his arms to embrace her back. It was such a genuine gesture of kindness and Cassandra could not bring herself to words to thank him as she cried into his shoulder.

She took a deep breath before picking up the pictures and she wanted to throw them back in the box, but she found herself going through them as if under a trance. There were pictures from their wedding, their honeymoon, some from Cassandra's pregnancy and even some of Ava when she was first born. She sat against the wall of her closet and continued flicking through the photos, tears streaming down her face as she did. She put off looking at these pictures for a reason, but as she was gazing at them, she couldn't stop herself. Her heart broke with each picture and all she wanted to do was lock herself away from the world and waste away into nothingness. God, she missed that man so much it hurt. It made it even worse with no body to bury, so she was left without a sense of closure, but each day alone cemented the thought in her head that he was never coming back.

A sniffle that was not her own drifted into her ears and she immediately knew that Ava was waking up from her nap early. She zoomed to the room to find her tossing about in her sleep before wailing out. Cassandra picked her up and rocked her, coddling her and letting her know that the monsters in her nightmares were gone.

"There, there," she said when Ava's tears were dried. "You're alright."

Ava's gaze caught the shiny surface of what was in her mother's hand and groped for it. Cassandra then looked down to see that in her rush to tend to her daughter, she'd held tightly onto one of the pictures. It got a little crumpled, but she smoothed out the picture of Damon against the edge of the crib before holding it up for Ava to see.

"Do you know who this is?" Cassandra asked Ava whose eyes were trained on the picture. She stared hard at it, like her brain was frantically searching for the face that took up some space in her memory. "It's daddy. Isn't he so handsome?"

The picture was taken during one of their many stays at the lake house whenever they needed to get away from the crazy that was Mystic Falls. Damon had no idea the photo was taken, so Cassandra quietly had it printed and put away until she organized everything into an album. He was seated on the end of the dock, his gaze on the bright sun that was reflecting off the water. The tiny waves glimmered like thousands of diamonds and pools of light reflected off of his face. He just looked so handsome, that Cassandra managed to sneak a photo while they were both sitting on the dock. Ava's hands reached for the picture and once she had it in her grasp, she brought it to her lips and giggled. Her sparkling blue eyes twinkled with innocence and pure happiness.

"Are you giving daddy kisses?" Cassandra grinned coyly at her daughter and pressed a kiss to her forehead with tears in her eyes. "I wish daddy was here to give kisses to. I tell you all the time that mommy loves daddy very much, even though he's gone."

Every night, Cassandra would read Ava a story, feed her a bottle, and tell her all about her daddy, hoping that it would all stick in her mind and his memory would be kept alive. Even though Ava would never get the chance to see her father again, Cassandra didn't want her to grow up without her knowing how wonderful he was and how much he loved his family.

Cassandra placed Ava back in her crib and put the picture down beside her. "So you can dream of him whenever you go to sleep." She kissed Ava's forehead and sat in the nursery for a little while until her baby had fallen asleep, her tiny head turned toward the picture of her smiling dad.

* * *

Alaric let out a long breath and set his red pen aside before stuffing his graded term papers in his briefcase. Teaching at a college level was much different than high school and that meant that the amount of work changed too which meant that he had more bad papers to grade. He seriously had to wonder how some of these kids were even accepted to Whitmore. They probably knew someone, Alaric thought to himself as he tapped his fingers against the surface of the table. He had a bit of a break between his classes, so he decided to meet Caroline at a diner just off the Whitmore campus to give her a book he'd found in the library about magical force-fields. It seemed like her and Stefan were the only ones trying to get Bonnie and Damon back, but Alaric wasn't so sure how far Stefan had gotten in his search. The calls they've exchanged back and forth didn't seem like Stefan had done much, but Alaric seemed hopeful.

Alaric checked through his phone for any messages and his heart dropped when he saw a few messages from Damon that he kept. As much as it hurt to see his name, he just didn't have the heart to get rid of the messages. He missed his friend so much and really hoped that either Stefan or Caroline would find a way to get him back. He needed his wingman back in his life and he needed Bonnie too. The funny thing about living in Mystic Falls was that there was always some way that a person could come back after being dead. There was always a supernatural loop hole of some-sorts to jump through, but it seemed like all of the loopholes had closed up.

Pushing his doubts aside, he then checked his watch and peered over at the door; Caroline was normally never late. No sooner had he thought that, the door to the diner opened revealing a brunette with a baby on her hip. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head when the brunette removed her sunglasses and he saw a face he hadn't seen in four months. He'd given Cassandra her space after Damon died, but a part of him felt like his friend would be smacking him upside the head for not checking in on his wife. Alaric had to hold back a chuckle at that notion, but one of the big reasons he held back was because of Ava. Since coming back to life, he had to adjust to being a vampire again which meant drinking blood from his travel mugs and sneaking blood bags during his break. His senses could always pick up the smell of blood or the thumping of someone's carotid artery and he was worried that being so close to a human baby would set him off. As Cassandra grew closer to the table, Alaric held his breath knowing that this would be his test.

"Hi stranger," she greeted with a soft smile as she approached the table.

"Hey! I, uh, didn't expect to see you here," he replied awkwardly while shifting his glance between Cassandra and the baby that was settled on her hip.

"Yeah, Caroline invited me for lunch and I originally told her that I'd be coming by myself, but 'Little Miss Fussy' here," She jutted her hip out and Ava stuck her fist in her mouth. "Didn't want to miss out on all the action."

"Great! The more the merrier." Alaric was now beating his gums together as the four month old stared into him with her bright blue eyes.

"Ric? Are you alright?" Cassandra asked him seeing that he was having a staring contest with a baby.

Truthfully, he was alright. He was better than he's been with any human he's encountered. No sudden cravings, no anxiousness, no anxiety. No, none of that. He was just so enthralled by Ava. He'd seen her when he was a ghost on the Other Side, but that was when she was just born. She'd grown so much and he felt stupid for not wanting to meet her sooner. Ava was still sucking on her fist when she gave Alaric a toothless grin and the vampire felt his fears drift away. He was now smiling too which made Cassandra relax.

"Yeah, uh, let's grab you a seat." He slid a chair over from an empty table and Cassandra sat down as she adjust Ava on her lap.

"Thanks." She glanced at the menu, but nothing tickled her fancy. "So, how's everything? Caroline told me you're teaching at Whitmore."

"Yeah, it's not Mystic Falls High, but it's something." He replied. "How about you? You look great."

"Thank you." She beamed and tucked a curl behind her ear. "I'm doing okay."

"I'm just really sorry about what happened." Alaric wished he could take back his words once he saw Cassandra's smile wilt, but he didn't feel right not offering his condolences. "Caroline and I are actually meeting here today to—"

"Sorry I'm late!" Caroline zoomed up to the table and tossed her bag around the back of her seat. "Parking here was a joke! I had to compel a student to give me her spot. I'm sure Ric has a special spot because he's faculty, but I still have my parking sticker even though I dropped out."

"Nice to see you too, Caroline." Ric chortled.

"Hi Care." Cassandra smiled and Caroline's parking woes melted at the sight of Ava.

"Oh, my God. She is just the sweetest thing I have ever seen!" The blonde sat beside the hybrid. "Hello, beautiful. We weren't expecting to meet you."

"Yeah, she wanted to come." Cassandra joked and could tell that Caroline was holding a question on her tongue. "Would you like to hold her?"

The blonde's eyes grew impossibly wider and she held out her hands. "Oh, yes please!"

Cassandra was a little worried on how Ava would take being with Caroline, but to her surprise, Ava was a happy camper. She smiled up at Caroline and waved her hands around, trying to catch some strands of her golden hair. Alaric watched on, fascinated on how a little girl could make a blood sucking vampire turn to mush.

"Okay, you were saying, Ric?" She raised her eyebrow and the teacher shuffled through his briefcase. He fished out three large books and placed them on the table.

"We're trying to get rid of the anti-magic barrier in Mystic Falls." He answered.

"And how has that search gone?" The hybrid wondered.

"We've hit some walls, but we're still working on it." He said and held up one of the books to Caroline. "I brought "Ancient Witchcraft, Volume Two"."

"I read it," the blonde told him.

Alaric put down that book and handed her the other two. "How about, "The Art of Hexing" and "Elements of Magic"?"

"Fine. Thank you." She took both books and put them in her bag.

"Look, I don't think you guys are gonna find anything in there." Cassandra took a sip of her water before continuing. "We should be lucky that the barrier didn't extend even further."

"Well, I'm just not satisfied with living on the boarder of Mystic Falls," Caroline said. "I mean, don't you want to bring Ava home?"

"Of course I want to bring her home." There was nothing she wanted in this world more, besides bringing Damon back. "But for now, that's not in the plans. I appreciated what you guys are doing, but I don't want to get my hopes up."

"Come on, Cassandra. Please don't be that way." Caroline begged and let Ava play with the pendent she had around her neck. "We all just want to go home."

"I'll leave you guys to it, I guess." She shrugged. "Speaking of getting my hopes up, has anyone spoken to Stefan?"

Caroline and Alaric shared blank looks with one another and they shook their heads.

"He doesn't really answer my calls." The blonde said.

"Mine too." Ric chimed in. "I did speak to him earlier and he said he was still waiting on some information from a contact. Nothing yet."

"Great. More good news." Cassandra sighed. "And Elena? How is she?"

Caroline rolled her bright blue eyes. "Elena is currently taking residence on planet denial about Damon and Bonnie being dead."

"It's part of the grieving process, Caroline." Alaric said.

"We've all had to adjust and we're doing the best we can at the moment." Cassandra added.

"I'm just worried about her. She just seems too okay, if that makes any sense." The blonde noted. "Well, anyways. Since today was kind of a wash, I'm going to go home and read."

"Yeah, I've got a class." Ric stood and put the strap of his bag on his shoulder.

Cassandra took back Ava who was a little sad to be leaving Caroline, but that was quickly changed by the shining pendent around her mother's neck. The trio walked outside to the parking lot and walked to their respective cars when Caroline picked up a muffled noise on the wind. She focused in on the sound and a knot grew in her stomach. It wasn't too far from the diner and it sounded like two people struggling. Maybe someone was being attacked? Her mouth then suddenly watered at the scent of fresh blood.

"Hey, you guys hear that?" She asked the group. At first, they thought she was just hearing things, but they heard it too and they smelled the blood.

"I do."

"Me too."

"Someone's in trouble," Caroline stated worriedly. "Maybe it's that vampire that attacked those two kids. Let's go."

"What? Caroline, this is crazy." Alaric told her.

"Come on, you guys. Someone is terrorizing our town and I want to know who." She gritted her teeth.

"I'm all fine and good with seeing who is doing this, but if we're gonna do this, we're taking my car." Cassandra clicked the remote starter and her Jeep revved to life.

"Why your car?" Alaric quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Because I've got the car seat."

* * *

It was a complete shock to all three of them when they witnessed Elena's fangs buried in the neck of a human. Cassandra pulled the car to a stop on the side of the road and she and Caroline got out while Ric remained in the back with Ava who was oblivious to it all. The girl in Elena's grip tried to struggle, batting her with her fists, but the vampire was reluctant to let go. It wasn't until she heard the slam of a car door and the scolding of her friend did she lift her head from her victim's neck and drop her to the ground.

"Oh, my god! What are you doing?!" Caroline rushed to a much frazzled Elena. Her eyes darted between her two friends and her victim, unsure of how to start.

"Caroline, it's not what it looks like," she stammered and in her confusion as to why her friends were here, the girl managed to propel herself away from Elena.

"No!" Elena reached for the girl, but she had unknowingly crossed over the no-magic barrier. Her arm sizzled in the sunlight and she yanked her arm back, cradling it to her chest and she watched as the girl ran off towards town.

"Oh crap..." Cassandra sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Now this girl was going to run around screaming that a vampire bit her.

"What did you do? Why the hell are you feeding on people?" Caroline hissed.

"It's fine." Elena told her simply. "I've compelled everyone else."

"Everyone else?" Cassandra wondered. Who else had Elena done this to, she had to wonder. Could Elena have been responsible for the events happening by the boarder of town?

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hang on." The blonde vampire waved her hands. "So you're the border-lurker?"

"The what?" Elena asked.

"Yeah, did you know my mom's been out looking for a vampire prowler?"

The brunette vampire rubbed her temples in an effort to clear her head. "The herbs...Luke's been giving me. They make me so thirsty. I am not thinking straight."

Caroline shot a glance at Cassandra before stepping up to Elena. "Whoa! What herbs?"

"They make me see Bonnie. I can talk to her and I see Damon too." Elena remarked and Cassandra fell completely silent.

"God, is this what you've been doing this whole time?!" Caroline growled. "Hallucinating your dead friends?!"

"I tried to grieve them, Caroline. Trust me, I know grief. I've got grieving down to a science at this point and I tried. But every time I let it sink in that I'm never gonna see them again, I feel like I'm gonna die." Her eyes grew watery.

"Elena, you're putting off the inevitable. There are other ways to get through grief and taking these witchy drugs is not one of them." Cassandra finally spoke up.

"Like what? Like dropping out of school and having picnics with my mom, near the town border?" Elena glared at Caroline. "Or maybe I could pull a Stefan and bounce from country to country chasing some false hope that we're gonna find a way to bring Damon and Bonnie back."

The soft whimper of a baby brought Elena to peer inside the car and she saw Alaric playing with Ava to hopefully get her to stop her fussy fit before it really started. Elena swallowed thickly; she hadn't seen Ava since she was born. Cassandra would text her pictures, but she'd ignore them. She didn't want to see her. It was a reminder of how happiness could be ripped away so quickly.

"Or I could do what you did, Cassandra." Elena's eyes were still on the car. "Buy a nice house and shut my daughter away from the world. Shelter her from every bad thing and lock her in her castle."

Cassandra recoiled as if a bullet had ripped through her. How dare Elena even try to wrap her head around how hard raising Ava on her own was for her? How dare she criticize how she was raising her daughter? Rage bubbled under her skin and she bit her bottom lip to keep from exploding like a pressure cooker while Caroline stood alert, ready to jump in should the situation turn even more volatile than it already was.

"The only person here I'd have to protect her from is you, Elena." Cassandra's tone was tainted with disdain.

It was now Elena's turn to open and close her mouth like a fish out of water. Those words cut her deep down to her core and she was forced to feel the burning sting. She looked between her friends, who now seemed like her enemies and wrung her hands in front of her.

"We're all getting through it." She ignored Cassandra initial statement, keeping her eyes at her shuffling feet. "This is me, getting through it, okay?"

"No." Cassandra hissed. "This is you whining and making excuses." In a flash, the hybrid had Elena pinned to the side of her car with a hand wrapped firmly around her neck. Caroline stayed back, knowing that stepping in Cassandra's way could be fatal. Cassandra's eyes glowed dark amber and her hand tightened around Elena's throat.

"Taking witchy drugs? Really? That's how you're choosing to get through this?!" She hissed at her.

"I tried to grieve, I did." Elena growled. Cassandra reached in the pocket of Elena's leather vest and dangled the sack of herbs in front of her. "Give them back!"

"Why should I?"

"Because they make me see my friend." Elena begged. "I see Damon too."

"Stop."

"He misses you so much and he misses Ava too."

"I said, stop, Elena!"

"You can see him. All you have to do is-"

Cassandra yanked Elena from the car by her neck only to slam her into it. The back of her head cracked the window, shattering it into little tiny fragments. "Stop talking! No more! Enough!"

Her shouts shook birds from their perches on the branches above them and even startled Ava who had begun to quietly cry. Elena remained silent and stone still, knowing that the grip on her neck could end her life. A few tears of fear leaked from the corners of her eyes and she silently begged for her life. Cassandra finally let Elena go, allowing her to gasp and pant on her hands and knees. She walked to the boarder and stared out at Mystic Falls. No doubt that girl had set off all the bells and whistles to get the town hyped up about a vampire attack. That would mean that everyone had to watch their backs all because of Elena's carelessness. The hybrid peered down at the bag of herbs in her hand before drawing back and launching them far over the barrier.

"No!" Elena rushed to the boarder, but was quickly stopped by her body sizzling once she entered the no-magic barrier. She wobbled back and fell on her behind, holding her head in her hands.

"I'm warning you, Elena. If I catch you taking those drugs again, I'll throw you over the boarder." Cassandra warned and Caroline's eyes grew wide at her threat, knowing that she would stand by her word.

Without another utterance, Cassandra turned on her heel and stalked to her car. She started the engine and honked the horn at Caroline who gave Elena a stern look before climbing into the car. No one spoke on the way back to the diner and it was best that no one did. Tensions were all too high and Caroline was now texting her mother to let her know that Elena was vampire who had snatched victims off the boarder.

Once Caroline and Alaric were dropped off at the diner parking lot to pick up their cars, Cassandra was making her way back home when tears flooded her eyes. She'd managed to keep herself composed for quite a bit, but as soon as she was in the clear of anyone seeing her, she broke down. She pulled over to the side of the road, threw the car in park and collapsed onto the steering wheel. Thankfully Ava was sleeping peacefully in her car seat after Alaric had given her a bottle, but the mother still kept herself as quiet as she possibly could.

Maybe Elena was right. Maybe Cassandra was doing wrong by Ava. Maybe keeping her away from everyone was hurting her rather than helping her. She didn't want to ever hurt her daughter; not in a million years, but perhaps her need to protect her baby girl clouded her own judgment. All she wanted was to do this whole parenthood thing the right way, but it was much harder with only one parent around. Cassandra often questioned her decisions when it came to Ava. Would Damon be alright with this? Would this be something that Damon would do? Damon, Damon, Damon. His name was like a stake to the heart and being left to desiccate in a cellar for a thousand years.

Cassandra lifted her head and wiped her cheeks, trying to get a hold of herself while she searched for her phone in her purse. She gripped it with shaking hands and dialed her brother-in-law whom she hadn't spoken to in months. It was a one-sided game of phone tag where Cassandra would leave messages, but Stefan would never return them. The phone rang and rang and rang in her ear for what seemed like an eternity and just as she was ready to throw her phone out the car window, she heard the tell-tale click of the phone picking up.

 _"Cassandra?"_ He said after a few long moments of silence.

"Stefan," she greeted with an unsteady voice, her body still wracked with emotions. "It's been a while since we've last talked. You haven't been returning my calls."

He must have been waiting for that because he promptly answered with a scripted response. _"Yeah, uh, I've been really crazed with work. You okay? You sound upset."_

"Please tell me that you've found something. Anything. I need to know if someone can bring Damon back." It all came out in a jumble of words before she could even process them.

She heard him sigh. _"Cassandra..."_

"Please," she begged tearfully. "I need hope because right now, I'm all out of it."

 _"I haven't found anything yet."_ His reply made her stomach twist into knots. Four months of potential hope had just come crashing down on her head.

"I can't do this." She was sure of how pathetic she sounded. "Stefan, I don't know how much longer I can keep a brave face."

 _"You have to. For Ava."_

Hot tears began to flow freely again and she gripped the steering wheel with one hand so hard that her knuckles were turning white. "It's just so hard. Every time I think I'm fine...I'm reminded of what I've lost. Of what we've all lost and I grieve again."

 _"I know,"_ he agreed.

"That's why I need something to hold onto forever because I have to live an eternity without my husband who will never know his own daughter."

Stefan was quiet for such a long time that Cassandra had thought that he had hung up or she'd lost the call. When he finally answered, it was like the entire world fell out from under her.

 _"I can't. I gave up."_

She leaned back into her seat, hoping that she'd sink into it and disappear. "What do you mean you gave up? You said that you were—"

 _"I did and then I realized it was pointless, so I stopped."_ He said. _"I said goodbye. I moved on. Damon is gone and I think it's time for you to say goodbye too."_

Cassandra held her head in her hand while the other was clutching the phone so tightly it could break. All this time Stefan was just putting up a facade to give everyone this sense of false hope that there would be a way to bring Damon and Bonnie back. He fooled all of them. Never had she felt so betrayed in her eternal life than how Stefan had strung them all along for the past four months. If she didn't have Ava in the car, she would have driven to Savannah and strangled her brother-in-law till he turned blue.

She could vaguely hear him calling her name through the phone, but she ignored him and hung up. She started the car again and drove back home, trying to make herself look like she hadn't been crying so that Vanessa wouldn't ask any questions. Her dark brown eyes flicked to the sleeping baby in her rearview mirror and her heart was filled with dread once more that Ava would grow up without ever knowing her father.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

* * *

The dark skinned girl's nose wrinkled and her eyes narrowed into thin slits when a plate of pancakes was placed in front of her. Normally, she loved pancakes whenever Grams would make them for her, but she hated these pancakes in particular. The fluffy cakes were stacked one on top of the other and had two blueberry eyes, a nose and a smile. Two thin spurts of whipped cream adorned the smile. Vampire pancakes, Damon had called them and the man who had made them was smirking as he set down his own plate and sat down across from her.

"Every day I tell you I hate that." Bonnie remarked and dropped two sugar cubes into her coffee mug. She then put the same amount of sugar cubes into another mug, just how Damon liked it.

"And every day I do it anyway." Damon grinned at her and took up his mug. He gestured for the newspaper which was resting at Bonnie's side of the table and she handed it to him.

"Bon appetit."

* * *

 **Hello, my dear friends! I hope everyone has had a wonderful summer and that you guys are settled into school/work. Here is the first chapter of TVD season 6 :) I hope you enjoyed reading it! Please give it a review! This story will only be a TVD story and the TO story will be posted soon.**


	2. Yellow Ledbetter

**The Long Way Home**

 **Chapter 2: Yellow Ledbetter**

 **Beta:** **PrincessOfSilence**

 **Disclaimer:** **I own nothing of The Vampire Diaries. I only own my characters and my story.**

* * *

 _ **Four Months Ago**_

White.

That's all Bonnie remembered when the Other Side collapsed. A bright white light blinding everything in sight. She figured that dying would be just like this. After all, so many people talk of the white light at the end of dark tunnels when you die. She awaited to be greeted by faces of his past who had been long gone, but no one came. She braced himself for pain or perhaps a feeling of calmness, but there was nothing. She could still vaguely feel the warmth from Damon's hand in hers when the light suddenly started to fade. Would Damon stay with her on this journey? Or would they be forced to part ways? As much as she disliked Damon's company, at times, she prayed that whatever forces that kept them together would keep it that way. She did not want to be alone. She was scared to open her eyes, fearful of the sight that she would be met with, but she stifled herself and very slowly let her eyelids part.

Tall trees with thick trunks and leafy branches grew high above them, their roots mapping out the darkened soil beneath their feet. The sky was painted black with bursts of twinkling stars nestled way up above the trees. The air was cool and calm, a contrast to what it had been mere minutes ago. It all seemed like a lovely place, but Bonnie recognized this setting all too well: she and Damon had just died in the very same spots they were standing in when the Other Side imploded. Nothing had changed and it seemed like they had traveled back in time before everything happened. Damon was looking around now too, bewilderment etched on his chiseled features as he questioned why the hell they were here. Both sets of eyes met and trailed down to their joined hands. Immediately, the pulled apart, as if embarrassed to have anyone see them holding hands and they distanced themselves a step or two.

"Huh. That got awkward fast," the vampire remarked.

"What happened? Where are we?" Bonnie wondered, her almond eyes scanning the area around her. She was being drawn forward and she was soon following her feet through the trees and thick brush.

"Where are you going? Hey?" Damon's voice followed her until they were in the center of town. Mystic Falls was as quiet as ever, not a car on the road or a friendly face in sight. They stood, clueless, in the middle of the street, completely speechless. What on earth had happened to them and to Mystic Falls?

Damon reached up to his lips and used his fingers to probe at his teeth. He quickly counted. One. Two. "Well, I feel a fang. I'm still a vampire. Either I'm a dead vampire or Mystic Falls is no longer magic free."

Bonnie's gaze fell on something very out of the ordinary and she pointed in the direction to make sure that Damon saw it too. "Look."

There, in all its glory stood the Mystic Grill. It was perfectly intact; not a scratch or brick out of place. Damon was dumbfounded now, as if he wasn't beforehand and he beat his gums for a few moments before replying.

"I definitely blew that up about an hour ago."

"Why don't we see any people?" Bonnie questioned. "If we're still on the Other Side we should at least be able to see the living."

Damon didn't have an answer for her. He honestly had no clue as to what was going on. "Where the hell are we? And I don't mean geographically."

"I have no idea," Bonnie sighed hopelessly.

* * *

 _"Are you out of your mind?!"_

Ric winced and held the phone away from his ear, but his hearing had already been damaged by Cassandra's angry shout. He had a feeling he'd get a reaction like this when he told her that he would be compelling away Elena's memories of her friends, but he hadn't anticipated a slight hearing loss. Elena had come to him the night before, completely distraught and she begged him to make her forget about Bonnie and Damon. The pain of living without them was too much for her to handle and Ric agreed to help her. Since Esther had turned him with the power of the white oak stake, he had the ability to compel other vampires. He'd never tried it before; Elena would be his first experiment, but he would be willing to try and help her. He could still hear Cassandra badgering him from the earpiece and he waited till she subsided to put the phone back to his ear. Alaric cleared his throat and double checked that the door to his classroom was locked. He had a couple of hours until his next class and he wanted to make his phone call while on break.

"I knew you'd react like this," he said.

 _"As if you thought I'd be alright with this."_ She hissed. _"What made you agree to this? Were you drunk?"_

"No, I was not drunk." He leaned back in his chair. "Look, the reason I really called was to ask for your help."

For a few moments, the line was silent and Ric was sure the call had been dropped, but he was soon greeted with another one of Cassandra's explosions.

 _"Help? Help?!"_ Ric pinched the bridge of his nose. _"No! No, I don't care if I was the last person on Earth, Ric. I still wouldn't help you."_ Cassandra screeched. _"I am still baffled that you of all people okayed this."_

"What else can I do, Cassandra?" He implored. "Elena's grief is slowly killing her."

 _"So, making her forget her friends is going to make it all better?"_

* * *

 _"She won't be forgetting them,"_ he corrected her. _"I would compel away the memories, so that Elena can live a normal life. Damon and Bonnie will still exist in her mind, but the memories of them won't."_

"Ric, I really don't need this kind of aggravation right now." Cassandra rubbed her temple and sat beside Ava. The happy baby was playing with her blocks and had no interest in mommy's blow-out with Uncle Ric. In actuality, she was much too enthralled with her blocks to pay attention to anything else.

 _"Look, Elena's in really bad shape and she needs a friend right now,"_ he pleaded.

"No, what Elena needs is a reality check." She corrected him. "What she is doing is completely crazy and I don't care how full-proof you say this plan is."

 _"Then, just come for moral support."_

Cassandra bit her bottom lip, trapping it tightly between her teeth. "I can't come, Ric."

 _"Why not?"_

"I just can't." She snapped at him hastily which caused Ava to look up at her mother. Cassandra sighed deeply, she hadn't wanted Ava to see her angry or upset, but what Ric was asking of her was something she could never imagine doing. Blue eyes, a gift from her father, stared up at her mother, peering so intensely that Cassandra could feel them going through her, a quality that Damon shared. So much of Ava was Damon; it amazed Cassandra how a four month old could be so similar to a 173 year old vampire; sometimes it even scared her how alike father and daughter were. Cassandra took it as a sign that Damon would continue to live on even after his death, but some days it was unnerving for her.

Ava blinked a few times before flashing a toothless smile at her mother and going back to her alphabet blocks. Cassandra's heart thumped loudly and proudly in her chest; such a sweet little girl she'd given birth to. So innocent and unaware of the turmoil around her, Ava was unknowing of the chaos that had rocked everything from its foundation; all that mattered in her world were her blocks, pureed sweet potatoes and naps in the afternoon.

"I'm sorry, Ric." Cassandra spoke into the phone once she had calmed down. "If I do this, then that means I'm condoning what Elena is doing and it's something I just can't do."

 _"Cassandra—"_ Ric begged.

"Goodbye, Ric." She hung up and laid her phone down on the plush ivory carpet of the living room.

For now, she just wanted to sort out her emotions in silence; for it would be much better than opening up old wounds with Elena over the drug incident. She was angry with Elena for coming up with such a stupid idea and she was even angrier at Alaric for indulging her. Losing Damon and Bonnie was hard on everyone, some harder than others, but everyone in Mystic Falls found their own way to deal with it. Elena, however, was only putting off the inevitable by using the herbs from Luke. And this compulsion theory was just the icing on the cake. She did understand that Elena wanted to go back to living a normal life again, but would Alaric compelling her to forget her friends really make it all better?

Then there was the issue of Cassandra not wanting to assist Ric and be there as moral support for Elena. Cassandra loved all of her friends and would do anything for them, but condoning Elena's decision to forget her friends would not make her situation any better. Guilt flooded her veins, a dark cloud hanging over her head and she found herself regretting not to help. However, she was locked on her principles and would stand by them.

"She won't be forgetting them." He corrected her. "I would compel away the memories, so that Elena can live a normal life. Damon and Bonnie will still exist in her mind, but the memories of them won't."

Her conversation with Ric drifted back into her mind. How would his plan even work? So, Bonnie and Damon would exist as ghosts in Elena's subconscious and nothing more? Cassandra shrugged off her hundred or so questions just in time to see her daughter crawl over to her and grasp the iPhone. She was pressing the icons on the screen, her eyes widening with each new screen that was brought up. While she was perplexed by the device, she was also amazed by it. Cassandra watched her for a bit, just taking in the simplicity of her innocence. What she wouldn't give to be four months old again. To be so small and not have a care in the world. She had fond memories of her mother rocking her to sleep with sweet lullabies and her father bouncing her on his knee in his study after a long day of work.

Her father, Joseph, was her hero since the day she was born. She was her father's pride and joy and he'd be sure to give her anything and everything she wanted on God's green earth. But he taught her the importance of being gracious and kind towards others; she loved him for that. While Cassandra's father and mother didn't always see eye to eye, they strived to make their daughter understand that they still loved one another and, most importantly, her. Cassandra learned from a very young age at what she wanted for a marriage, and when Damon came along, she knew she had found the person she wanted to spend her life with. So, naturally, it was hard on Joseph to let his little girl go, but he knew he had to.

Cassandra wanted Damon's memory to be kept alive so that Ava would feel as if he would be with them forever. She never ever wanted to rob her daughter at the chance of knowing who her father was. It just wouldn't be fair to any of them. How could Cassandra fathom a life where her husband only just existed? Hell, she had a daughter that had a right to know how great of a man her father was.

She twisted her body to lay on her belly near Ava who had given up the phone and was playing with her blocks. Cassandra took some and made a small tower with them which Ava quickly knocked down and laughed long and hard when the blocks tumbled to the floor. They continued this game a few more times and Ava was giddy each time she got to knock the blocks down. Cassandra really wished Damon was here to play with Ava. After all, he was a child at heart most times. She could just see it now, Damon making funny faces and begrudgingly dressing up for a tea party when Ava was old enough. She still had some wild hope that Damon would come home, but it seemed that they've hit every dead end in sight.

* * *

 _ **Four Months Ago**_

"How many more streets are we going to wander?" Damon audibly groaned. The pair was now walking down the streets outside of town. The residential area had always been cheery, but the lack of inhabitants made it creepier. Just like the center of town, not a person was insight and the streets were deserted minus some cars that were parked along the block or in driveways. Morning had come quickly and Bonnie was thankful for the sun which seemed to spread some kind of light on the situation. It was a hell of a lot better than walking at night.

"How many times are you going to ask me questions I don't have the answers to?" Bonnie countered, clearly annoyed with Damon's persistence. With a crinkled nose, Damon walked on in silence.

"There's something weird about these cars," the girl added and stopped at a white car on the street.

Damon noticed it too, being a man who liked his cars. He ran a hand over the hood of the car oddly. "Yeah, they're all 20 years old or more and yet they look brand new."

He then realized that he and Bonnie were standing in front of a very familiar house. A look washed over Bonnie and she ran up the front lawn and onto the porch while Damon stood speechless in the middle of the street. Now he was really tripping.

"And that is Elena's not-so-burnt-to-a-crisp house." He said and managed to drag himself to the porch, being mindful of the children's toys that littered the lawn. His foot hit a stuffed animal or two, but what caught his eye was a newspaper that was nestled in the blades of grass. He picked it up, unfolded it, and was hit with a possible answer as to what was happening to him and Bonnie. He nudged her shoulder and handed her the paper.

Bonnie looked at him confusedly. "Hmm?"

"Look."

" _'Rare solar eclipse expected to be seen across twelve states?'_ " She read the first bold headline that was printed on the page.

Damon rolled his eyes. "The date."

"May 10th, 1994." She stopped and read it over again in her head. "Is that-? Are we-? But that's impossible."

Suddenly, the sky began to turn a darker blue and they both looked up. Above their heads, they could see the very same eclipse from the newspaper blotting out the sun's bright rays. Shadows cast over everything in sight and Bonnie took up the paper from Damon, her eyes going right to the article about the eclipse.

"I don't think we should be asking where we are, I think we should be asking _when_ we are." Damon spoke.

* * *

Ava was now bored with her blocks and was crawling around for something new to play with. She bypassed her stuffed animals and sensory books and even her favorite princess figurines. Cassandra quickly scooped her up and decided to take her out back to the garden. Ava loved the brightly colored flowers and would softly coo whenever she saw flowers she really liked. Her tiny fingers would gently stroke a petal or leaf when she got close enough and Cassandra would let her pick some flowers to hold. The approached a birdbath settled in the middle of the garden and Ava squealed at the birds who were resting on the edges of it. Some hopped in and out, splashing water onto their feathers with their beaks.

Cassandra had never kept a garden before, but she was always fond of the fully bloomed flowers in Mrs. Salvatore's garden and would often find herself wandering there whenever she would visit the Salvatores. When she bought the house, she hadn't intended on using the backyard for anything, but every time she passed the kitchen window which looked over the yard, it bothered her that it was so plain and deserted. Once she planted flowers and vegetable plants, she be comforted by the sprouts that broke through the soil. She thought of that garden as a symbol of her own soul being reborn again. Like the earth beneath her feet, she had to start her life all over again without Damon, and after some time and patience, she began to grow and thrive once more. While she knew she had a long way to go, she was thankful for her healing garden.

A sudden rustling in the brush made her slowly turn and she was on full alert seeing Enzo standing in her garden. Being in the land of the living had treated him well and he wore that classic trademark smirk that she so badly wanted to smack off his face. Ava seemed to sense her mother's tenseness and her blue eyes remained trained on the newcomer.

"Isn't she a beauty?" Enzo finally spoke up. "Takes after her mommy."

"You have no right to be here." Cassandra held her daughter closer to her.

Enzo held up his hands in surrender and took a step forward. "Look, I just wanted to—"

"Get out of here!" She hissed, turning her body, so Ava was further away from the vampire.

"Cassandra, wait!" Vanessa stepped through the stalks of sunflowers and stood beside Enzo. Caroline had also come too and the two blondes looked pleadingly at her.

"What is going on here?" Cassandra asked the girls.

"He's just here to talk," Caroline said calmly.

"Well, tell him he can go talk to someone else." The hybrid growled.

"He found a way to maybe bring Damon and Bonnie back." Vanessa added and Cassandra seemed slightly intrigued, but after hitting so many walls over the past few months, she hardly believed in anything anymore. "You might want to listen to him."

"This is the first solid lead we've had in months." The other blonde said.

"How do you know he isn't lying to you?" Cassandra's gaze passed between the two vampires. "He hasn't been around for four months and he suddenly appears with a lead. I wouldn't trust him if my life depended on it."

"You know, I am right here." Enzo waved his hand in the air in a mocking manner. Cassandra bit the inside of cheek, her anger stifling because her daughter was still present. She cleared her throat, shifted her stance and kissed Ava's forehead.

"Take Ava inside please." Vanessa was slow to move, but she nudged Caroline towards the house before taking Ava from her mother. Vampire and hybrid were alone in the garden and Enzo felt his hand nervously twitch at his side.

"You want to talk?" She asked him and he nodded his head hesitantly. She was suddenly much too calm for his taste and she didn't have the baby in her arms, so that only made him uneasy as to how their talk would go. "Okay."

In a rush, Enzo's body was thrown through the air and he crashed into the birdbath. A mess of water and feathers surrounded the grappling pair and Cassandra held Enzo down over the broken pieces of the bath. His cuts healed, but her hand pressing against his throat made it harder for him to catch his breath. He knew that Cassandra had a temper, but this was unlike anything he'd ever seen.

"Let's get one thing straight right now." She seethed. "If you ever come onto my property again unannounced, I will cut your head off. Do you understand me?"

"Yes." The vampire breathed.

"Good." She lifted his upper body and slammed it down into the ground. "Now, talk."

"There's a witch coven in Oregon..." He coughed and wriggled in her hold, but she held him still. "They found a way to communicate with their ancestors before the Other Side disappeared. They call themselves The Gemini Coven."

"And where'd you find this information?"

"From a lovely garment attendant at a hotel who happens to be a witch." He grunted and she rolled her eyes, not wanting to know what he had to do to get this classified information.

"Why should I trust you?" Her fangs were getting dangerously close to his neck now.

"Because I want to bring my friends back, okay?" Enzo wheezed.

"Oh? The same friend who wants to kill you for going after me?" Cassandra tightened her harsh grip on his neck. "If you had pushed me any harder that night at Whitmore, my baby might not be alive."

"Look, I'm sorry—"

"Sorry won't cut it, Enzo." Her free hand gripped the collar of his jacket and she flung him against the side of the shed where she kept her gardening tools. "Get out."

The wounded vampire got to his feet and held his hands up when Cassandra made to jump at him again. "Wait, wait, wait! Hold on! Just stop beating me into the ground long enough for me to talk, alright?"

Cassandra's fists were clenched so hard she could feel tiny crescent shaped cuts forming on the palms of her hands. The thought of Enzo begging was absolutely pathetic, so to pity him, she decided to let him speak.

"I know you're angry and I know you're hurting, but this is a chance I want to take." He started. "I get it, you hate me and you should, but I think Ava deserves to know that you did everything you could to bring her father back."

"I have done everything," she countered. "I've followed every lead, held onto every shred of hope, and begged for this horrible nightmare to go away, but it hasn't. I live it every day and I hate it."

He could hear the rage disappearing from her tone and it gave way to sadness. Her voice shook and her eyes filled with hot tears that threatened to break free. She pressed a hand to her head and looked around the garden. Her emotions were yanking at her nerves and she could do nothing to calm them. She was immediately transported to her days after she first turned and she was unsure if she could continue to keep living with the onslaught of feelings that bombarded her at every moment.

"It's so hard." She whispered and ran her hands through her tousled curls. "That little girl in there will never know her father and it's just not fair."

Enzo actually felt bad for Cassandra. He'd always known her to be tough as nails, but to see her crumbling to pieces before him was heartbreaking. He always thought of her and Damon's relationship as a complete sham, but now he understood how strong their love was. Hell, they got married and had a child together, all while putting each other's needs before their own.

Cassandra never really hated Enzo; hate was a strong word to use. Were there times when she wanted to tear his head off or stake him and leave him out in the sun? Of course, but he was Damon's friend and she had to respect that. Damon and Enzo met in Augustine and she would never know the bond they shared for five years in those cells. Enzo was there for Damon at a time when Cassandra couldn't and for that, she was thankful to Enzo for keeping an eye on him for the time being. Perhaps Enzo really did want to help with bringing Damon back, maybe he really did miss his friend.

"Then, please go through with this lead." Enzo approached her now that her guard was down and she let him. She hastily wiped her tears with the back of her hand and he handed her a piece of paper with name of the coven on it. "If it doesn't check out, you can...kick my ass again."

A short laugh fell from her lips and she took up the paper, holding it tightly in her hand. "Thank you, Enzo. You are one of the few people who have been looking for a way to fix this. Damon's own brother gave up."

"Stefan." Enzo rolled his eyes. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me."

"Well, I shouldn't be pointing fingers at Stefan. I gave up for a bit too." She looked down at her feet in shame. On some days, she hated herself for not believing in hope and faith, but after too many letdowns, she decided it was best not to get too excited when a new one came along.

"Don't get too discouraged, darling. We've all lost hope at one point or another." He told her. "What do you say we pay Stefan a visit?"

Cassandra's eyebrows creased and she tilted her head. "Why would I ever want to visit Stefan?"

"Well, considering he is your brother-in-law and Ava's uncle, he has yet to show his face. I think that's pretty despicable don't you think?"

"He says he's moved on and suggested that I do the same," she said. "I tried to, but I can't. I don't know how I ever could."

The backdoor to the house opened up and Caroline peeked her head out. Vanessa was huddled behind her with Ava on her hip. "Everything okay out here?"

"Yeah, we're alright." Cassandra beckoned for them to come outside and they did, but they stayed on the back porch after seeing the destroyed birdbath.

"You guys have a nice talk?" Vanessa's voice had a hint of sarcasm.

Enzo reached up and massaged the back of his neck. He cast a glance to Cassandra who was trying to hide her smirk with her hand. "Bloody lovely talk."

"Hey, let's start cleaning up." Caroline motioned to the birdbath, so Vanessa handed Ava to Cassandra, but the hybrid stopped them from continuing.

"Wait, guys, I can clean that up later." She told them with a wave of her hand while balancing Ava in her grasp. "Listen, Vanessa, I need you to do me a huge favor."

The short haired blonde immediately nodded enthusiastically. "Of course. Whatever you need, I'll do it."

"Well, I was planning on driving up to pay Stefan a visit, but I don't feel like it's my place to go, so..." Cassandra's glances passed between Vanessa and Enzo, the later of the two was beaming from ear to ear. He bounced on the balls of his feet while Vanessa was slowly putting two and two together. Once it hit her, Cassandra swore she saw the light bulb go off in her head, but it quickly shattered when Vanessa realized who she'd have to go with.

"...I hate you."

* * *

 _ **Four Months Ago**_

"Where is any booze in this empty Retroville?" Damon asked aloud as he reclined on the porch swing at Elena's house.

"It feels so weird to be back here." Bonnie remarked and picked up one of Elena's toys that she would always play with whenever she came over for a playdate. "I practically grew up on this porch."

"Alright." Damon set his feet down and stopped the swing from swinging. He leaned forward, placing his hands on his knees. "Talk me through it."

Bonnie put the toy down and turned her body to face Damon. "Before the Other Side collapsed, my Grams said that she made a sacrifice so that I could find peace."

"The part where you actually have a theory." He corrected and he was met with the roll of her eyes.

"Well, this clearly isn't peace, otherwise I wouldn't be stuck here with you."

"Rude." The vampire pouted.

"She must have...I don't know, sent me somewhere." Bonnie shrugged. "And when I held your hand it took you with me."

"Well, did she happen to whisper a safe word in her last breaths?" He asked. "A clue, maybe? Witchy path out of here?"

"No, but if we got here by magic, magic should be able to get us out." She sat up straight and took up a glass cup she'd found on the lawn. She set it upside down on the wood and focused hard on it.

"And that frown that's not upside down is telling me what?" Damon asked.

"Phesmatos incendia," Bonnie murmured. The both of them looked at the glass intently, waiting for something to happen, but it never did. Damon let out a sigh and leaned back on the porch swing, letting the momentum take him back and forth. Bonnie's eyes were downcast in complete disappointment, they were really stuck in the place with no way of getting out.

"Still can't do magic." Damon hummed. "Perfect."

* * *

Stefan Salvatore stabbed another piece of chicken on his plate as he stared down his two uninvited dinner guests. He'd been cooking for himself and Ivy when she walked inside with two people he hadn't seen in four months. Ivy was chattering about how she'd met them while she out grocery shopping for some extra things for dinner and decided to invite them over. This was something he'd always feared, that someone from his pas would come and find him; his worst nightmare had just come true. He purposely moved far away from Mystic Falls just so he wouldn't be found, but his plan had collapsed. He should have known that this would have happened. How long could he have suspected for everyone at home to leave him be before they started looking for him? Now he was stuck with entertaining Vanessa and Enzo for dinner which was awkward enough.

"Good stuff, mate." Enzo grinned and lifted his wine glass to toast Stefan. The vampire nodded, pleased with the compliment, but not with his presence.

"So, how do you guys know Stefan?" Ivy wondered.

"I'm friends with his sister-in-law, Cassandra." Vanessa answered. "She's married to his brother."

Ivy peered over at Stefan expectantly. "You never told me you had a brother."

"Well, since we're on the subject of things that Stefan hasn't told you about. He's also an uncle." Enzo added with a grin to which Ivy pursed her lips and bit the inside of her cheek. "She's a cutie, Stefan's niece. I had the pleasure of meeting her this afternoon."

"Wow, I'm learning a lot tonight." The girl mumbled and pushed her vegetables around on her plate.

"So, Ivy, how do you know Stefan?" Vanessa asked and took a sip from her wine glass.

"Uh, Ivy's car was in the shop, where I work." Stefan replied.

The blonde choked a bit on her wine and she cleared her throat. "You work at an Auto-Repair shop?"

"It's relaxing." The vampire smacked his lips together.

"Why? What did you used to do?" Ivy was curious.

"Ah, man of all seasons, jack of all trades." Enzo clapped Stefan's shoulder hard, not being shy about using his vampire strength. He then cast his gaze on Ivy and leaned towards her. He wet his lips and smiled at her. "You have a lovely clavicle."

"Oh," she was caught off guard by his compliment and a bit creeped out by it. Her hand landed on her collarbone, rubbing the skin back and forth awkwardly. "Thank you, I think."

"Forgive me, I always notice a woman's neck. I'm a neck person." Enzo smirked. "Vanessa's a neck person."

"I love necks." The vampire winked from behind her wine glass and she noticed Stefan tensing out of the corner of her eye.

"So is Stefan. Right, Stefan?" Enzo was now looking at the vampire next to him.

"Not anymore." Stefan grumbled.

Enzo shook his head. "Ah, well that's silly. You can't just stop being a neck person."

Ivy leaned over and whispered to Vanessa. "Is your friend Enzo always like this?"

"If you mean tactless and boorish, then yes." Vanessa replied in a quiet tone.

"How charming." Ivy said sarcastically.

"I know, right? Can't take him anywhere."

"Uh, hello. I'm right here." Enzo waved a hand at the girls who stopped whispering about him. "I have super sensitive hearing. Practically supernatural. Do you believe in the supernatural, Ivy?"

For the second time tonight, Ivy was caught off guard by Enzo's advances. She happened to notice Stefan shift anxiously in his seat and Vanessa was looking at her for an answer. "I've...never really thought about it."

"I myself, am a believer." Enzo announced. "Had to get a witch to do a locator's spell to find my buddy here."

Everything suddenly fell silent at the table and four sets of eyes were searching the other's present in the room. Utensils scraped against plates and someone cleared their throat quietly. Then, as if told to, Enzo gave a short laugh which broke the silence and everyone laughed with him.

This was the most awkward dinner of Stefan's life, but he hardly knew that it would all be downhill from there.

* * *

"So, Stefan, tell us, this house, very charming. When'd you get it?" Enzo wondered.

Stefan had just been mid sip when he had to collect himself and answer. "About a month or so ago."

"No, more than that, remember?" Ivy chimed in with a grin. "We met two months ago and you already had it."

Vanessa green eyes grew wide and she then sent a pointed glare Stefan's way. "Two months. That's awfully weird because everyone at home thought you were living someplace else. Then again, not like we would know. It's not like you call or anything."

"I've been really busy with work." Stefan defended himself.

"You mean, your investigative work?" The vampire guessed, but then took it back. "Oh, wait. That's right. You're working in an Auto Repair shop instead."

"How about we just drop it? I'm happy doing what I'm doing now, and that's all that should really matter, right?" Stefan's attitude was really getting on Vanessa's final nerve. Her hand tightened around her fork and her teeth clenched.

Enzo placed a soft touch on her arm, partially startling her, but it went unnoticed by the other two people sitting at the table. "There, darling. No need to make a scene. Really it's all just some big misunderstanding."

Vanessa loosened the grip on her fork and placed it down on her napkin which happened to be where Enzo's hand was. She thought nothing of it, but would soon curse herself once dinner was over.

"Perhaps this will clear it all up." In seconds, Enzo grabbed Vanessa's fork and stabbed Stefan's hand with such force that the prongs broke through his skin and became embedded in the table.

"Oh my God!" Ivy shrieked shrilly.

"Enzo!" Vanessa scolded the vampire with a bang of her hands on the table.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Stefan winced.

"So many secrets." Enzo tutted. "What are you running from, Stefan?"

Ivy watched with a mixture of fear and fascination as the wound on Stefan's hand healed when Enzo removed the fork. She knew that shouldn't have happened, but couldn't wrap her head around the idea. She stammered a few unrecognizable phrases, the initial shock setting in and she found herself unable to move or speak.

Vanessa took Ivy by the shoulders, peering into her horror filled gaze. "Stay calm and come with me upstairs."

"Uhm...I..." Ivy's tongue twisted her words again and Vanessa glared at Enzo.

"Really?! So subtle." She deadpanned and tugged on Ivy's hand to get her to follow her upstairs.

Enzo tossed the bloodied fork aside and pushed out his chair to stand. Leaning both palms on the table, he craned his neck towards the vampire. "What kind of coward gives up on his own brother?"

"You don't know what you're talking about." Stefan hissed and rushed at Enzo, pinning him to the wall. Enzo growled loudly, shoved Stefan into the fridge, and stabbed him in the neck with another fork he'd grabbed from the table.

"Why don't you enlighten me?" The two vampires rushed at one another. Stefan yanked the fork from his neck and tried to slash Enzo with it, but they were scuffling much too quick. Enzo slammed Stefan to the wall, but the latter retaliated by banging his head against Enzo's. He stumbled backwards, crashing through the dinner table in the process. Stefan jumped on Enzo, throwing punch after punch until he was able to get Enzo stunned enough to snap his neck.

* * *

 _ **Two Months Ago**_

"What's a seven letter word for kill me now?" Bonnie groaned.

"That joke got old six weeks ago," Damon deadpanned.

Six weeks. They'd been reliving May 10th, 1994 for six whole weeks and it was beginning to get on their nerves. For six weeks a solar eclipse happened at the same time every day. For six weeks Damon made Bonnie pancakes for breakfast. For six weeks Bonnie filled in the same crossword puzzle on the back of the newspaper. Two solids months had gone by and neither of them had any idea as to why they were stuck in the same day over and over again. For Bonnie, there was a plus side of this repetitive hellhole. When she went to her house last night, she found everything as it was in 1994. Sure, she was a child then, but she could still feel the warmth and energy surging through her home. When she tiptoed upstairs to her bedroom, she was even more surprised to find her favorite teddy bear, Ms. Cuddles, resting against the pillows on her bed like she'd always been. She decided to take the bear back to the boarding house, feeling a little piece of childhood come with her. On a hunch, she went to her Grams' room and opened up the trunk at the foot of her bed. There, nestled in between sacks of fragrant herbs and mystical charms, was her Grams' grimoire and hopefully an answer to getting them home.

"And so did this crossword puzzle. Every day for two months I've done this stupid thing and I still can't figure out 27 across." She placed the pencil down harshly on the table, her fingers at her chin in contemplation. "Old tongue twister, Eddie turned Top 40?"

Damon was partly ignoring her; the effect of his bourbon making his mind swirl with a mix of different thoughts. He used his spatula to take two pancakes from the skillet and place them onto a plate. He then made a circle of whipped cream over the stack and set it down at Bonnie's table setting. He couldn't see it, but he could feel her animosity towards him spreading along every nerve like wildfire. She suddenly snapped, stabbing at her breakfast with the tip of her sharpened pencil.

"I hate pancakes!" She shouted and Damon remained passive about the situation.

"Whoa, don't take it out on the pancakes." He smirked. "Those pancakes, like myself, are waiting for you to be witchy to get us the hell out of here."

"You know I've been trying!" She growled at him.

"And failing." He replied gruffly "Further evidence, we're in hell. Not only am I stuck with you, I'm stuck with the useless version of you."

Bonnie's jaw went slack, appalled that Damon had the audacity to treat her like crap. She wished she had her powers back just so she could fry him with just a thought. She really had been trying ever since she found the grimoire belonging to her beloved Grams, but like Damon said, she's been trying and failing. She glared at the vampire and was ready to come back at him with a witty remark, but something made her stop and turn her head away from him.

"Did you hear that?" She asked him, her gaze searching for the source of the sound she'd heard.

Damon rolled his eyes, dismissing her sudden hope for pure imagination. "What would I have heard, Bonnie? We're the only two people here, we were the only two people here two months ago and the only two people here now."

"Well, I swear I heard something!" She countered.

"Maybe it's the sound of existential despair. I hear that's what hell sounds like." He grumbled.

Bonnie snapped again, unable to deal with Damon's negativity a moment longer. "You know what? You think we're trapped in your hell? I have to spend every day on repeat with the person I like least on this earth! Maybe we're trapped in mine."

She snatched up Ms. Cuddles and Grams' grimoire. If Damon was going to continue talking down to her, she'd leave him to wallow in his own despair and she wouldn't stick around for it. She stomped out of the house and Damon winced when she slammed the door behind her. He knew deep down that Bonnie was trying, but he was beyond frustrated with each failed attempt after the next. He missed his home, he missed his family and he desperately wanted to get back to them. He often wondered to himself why he and Bonnie were the only ones stuck in 1994. Had he been a terrible person and this was to be his purgatory for the rest of his eternal life? That theory was a front runner, but when he had to beg the question on why Bonnie was here too. Perhaps he shouldn't have been so hard on Bonnie because she would be the only one who could get them home, but he was becoming restless and dare he say homesick. His wife and daughter were living their lives without him and that killed him every single time he thought about it and he hadn't stopped thinking about it since he arrived in 1994 two months ago.

* * *

After Vanessa had compelled Ivy to chill out and forget nearly everything that happened at dinner, she slowly tiptoed downstairs to see Stefan trying to clean up the dining room. She'd heard the whole argument from upstairs and knew that it would not end well for Enzo. She half expected to see him still unconscious, but she guessed that he was outside by the sound of the car engine purring outside. Stefan looked up at her once she entered the room, a somber expression taking a hold of his features. He stood and tossed some of the table's splintered legs into a garbage bag.

"I'm sorry tonight happened the way it did." She spoke truthfully. "We just—"

"I know." He cut her off sharply and it almost made her flinch. Almost.

"Look, I apologized. Okay?" Her green orbs narrowed. "I just don't understand how you've been able to leave your whole life in Mystic Falls behind."

Stefan set the trash bag aside and took a few steps towards her. "What was I supposed to do?"

"I don't-"

"No." He stepped on her words again, his nostrils flaring with anger. "Since everyone is such an expert about what I should do with my life, how about you tell me because, clearly, I'm doing it all wrong."

Vanessa wanted to shrink in size and disappear from Stefan's irate gaze, but as much as she wanted to run, he asked her for advice, so she'd give it to him straight. Yeah, he'd probably get mad at her and never want to look at her ever again, but he needed to know her view on the last four months.

"I understand you're grieving, Stefan, but so is everyone else at home." She started gently, wanting to keep her own emotions at bay. "We're all dealing with it in our own way, but you chose to run away from it and leave your friends behind; the people who needed you the most. Believe it or not, Stefan, they need you. Elena needs you, Cassandra needs you and so does Ava."

Guilt gripped Stefan tightly like a cold hand. He knew deep down that he was running from everything at home, but hearing it come from someone else made it hurt even more. "I can't go back to Mystic Falls. Everything there reminds me of Damon. I can't even look at his wife, let alone my niece. I...she looks so much like him."

"I know she does." Vanessa said. "You owe it to her to be in her life."

"I can't." He shook his head and went back to cleaning up the room, anything to get her eyes off of him. "I came here to start over and I'm doing just that."

"Stefan..."

"Just go." He stuffed more garbage in the bag, his back still to her. He couldn't go home, he just couldn't.

Vanessa bit her bottom lip, swallowing the tears that pricked her eyes. She was so hopeful going on this trip, but her hope was quickly stepped on realizing that Stefan wanted nothing more than to forget everything in Mystic Falls. Her hands curled into fists and shook at her sides, her nails biting into her palms. She could feel herself bleeding, but she ignored it as she stomped toward the door. She was in the doorway when she froze, one hand on the frame. She took a deep breath and turned back towards Stefan.

"Damon needs you too, Stefan." That one sentence made him stop, but he wouldn't dare turn to face her. "He might not be here anymore, but he needs you to help with Ava. You know, if the situation were reversed, he'd do the same for you. It's bad enough that she has to grow up without a father, but it sucks that she will grow up without her uncle too."

Slowly, Stefan's eyes met hers and they were both on the verge of tears. Vanessa really wished that Stefan would understand how his decisions were hurting not only Cassandra, but Ava too. She didn't know how she would be able to explain this to Cassandra, but she knew that the young mother would not take it well and that killed her inside. Vanessa sped from the house, practically running for the car in an effort to keep herself from exploding. Enzo was in the driver's seat, tapping his fingers against the wheel impatiently. She slammed the door and wiped the few tears that fell on her cheeks. Enzo put the car in gear and started to back up, but when he turned his body to clear the driveway, he caught sight of Vanessa trying to hide her tears. He threw the car in park, the force of it jostling them back and forth.

"What happened?" He asked, but she didn't answer.

"Just drive." She mumbled.

Enzo growled under his breath. "What. Happened?"

"Nothing! Just drive!" More tears fell and Enzo could feel steam blowing out of his ears. His hand reached over, firmly gripping her chin and turned her to face him. Her eyes were red from crying and her cheeks stained with her tears. She tried to avert herself from his gaze, but he held her there, stripping down her high walls that had been up the entire time he'd been with her. He finally let her go after what felt like a lifetime and Vanessa kept her head down, her eyes glued to her hands that were clasped tightly in her lap. Enzo nearly tore his seatbelt from the clip and vanished from the car before Vanessa could say anything. She watched him go back into Stefan's house and she dialed up Cassandra to tell her that Stefan wouldn't be coming home.

* * *

 _ **Two Months Ago**_

Bonnie turned down the gas on the stove and set aside two bowls on the marble counter beside it. She moved the small pot of hot beans off the burner and spooned them evenly into each bowl. She placed a spoon in hers and in Damon's before bringing them to the dining room table. When she had come home, nighttime had cast its dark shadows inside the boarding house and Damon was seated at the table. Little did she know, Damon had been there the entire time. His mind was all muddled after Bonnie left and he felt it best to be alone with his thoughts. It wasn't until she put the bowl of beans in front of him was he aware that she cooked dinner. Bonnie sat across from him, trying to search for the right words to say, but she thought it best to keep her mouth shut. She wordlessly handed Damon a spoon for his beans and to her surprise, he smiled at her and took it. Perhaps it would be alright to say something, but what? Bonnie watched him eat a few spoonful's before finally speaking to him.

"I miss them too, you know," she whispered softly which made Damon look up in surprise that she had spoken to him after the way he acted earlier. He nodded in agreement and started eating his food. The two ate in silence with only the crackling of the fire and the spoon scraping against the bowl as a soundtrack when Damon gripped the newspaper on the table. After swallowing a mouthful of beans, he pursed his lips.

"Look who got 27 across." He said, clearly impressed.

"I wish." Bonnie sighed. "27 across is a rock I am pushing up an endless mountain."

"It's an old tongue twister Eddie turned top 40, Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam. Yellow Ledbetter." He set the newspaper down and Bonnie's eyebrows creased. She took the newspaper and her eyes immediately went to 27 across. There, in plain sight she saw the boxes filled in with unrecognizable penmanship.

"Are you messing with me?" She asked him.

Damon chuckled as if it were a joke. "No, you messing with me?"

Bonnie shook her head. "I didn't finish this."

"Well, neither did I," The vampire shrugged. Bonnie's heart leapt with joy; she was right. There was no other explanation for the strange noises and the filled in crossword puzzle. Her eyes scanned the room and she could hardly fight the smile ebbing at the corners of her lips.

"There's someone else here."

* * *

I hope everyone enjoyed the next chapter of **The Long Way Home**. Please give it some love and check out the newest TO story called **My Soul to Keep**. I decided to keep them separate stories and there might be some chance of a crossover, but I am not entirely sure yet. Please review and feed my ego ;)

 **CarlyLynn:** Thank you, CarlyLnn! I'm really glad you liked this chapter! I posted the new Originals story last night, so give it a read when you get a chance :)

 **grapejuice101:** Thanks for reviewing! Hope you liked the next chapter!

 **SomebodyWhoCares** **:** Yes, please give Cassandra a hug! She could certainly use it. Thanks for reviewing!

 **DreamHunterVo:** I'm sorry for giving you feels, but I have the feels too! Thank you for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed this update.

 **Harshita94:** Thanks for reviewing! Damon does miss Cassandra and Ava. I want to bring him home as soon as possible, so that he can be reunited with his wife and baby girl.

 **elisesellas:** Hello, my dear! I felt like it has been forever since we last spoke! I hope everything is going well by you. I am stressed with all my assignments too, but writing will definitely help with the stress. Thank you so much for reviewing! Cassandra is not having an easy time at all raising Ava on her own, but she does have help. As the story moves forward, Damon will become more and more desperate to get back home and Cassandra is still holding onto hope that Damon and Bonnie are somewhere out there. When you get a chance, swing on over to the TO story that I posted last night. I hope to hear from you soon! Have a great week :)

 **VampirePrincess11:** I know, right? Cassandra's definitely feeling the pressure of raising Ava by herself. Thanks for reviewing! The new TO story has been posted last night, so when you get a chance, head on over :)

 **NicoleR85:** Thanks for reviewing, Nicole! Hope you enjoyed this update!

 **Tvd2014:** Thank you for reviewing! Yeah, I like that the two stories are separated. I think it makes it easier for my readers.

 **Kim:** Hi Kim! Thank you so much for reviewing! I kind of thought that it would be out of Cassandra's character to take the witch herbs, so I let it be Elena's crutch to use. I did miss Alaric too and I'm glad he's back in the show.

 **twin of a sister:** Hello gorgeous! Thank you so much for reviewing as always! I can't wait to have Damon reunited with Cassandra and Ava. In the chapters to come, he will really start to get antsy and so will Bonnie. I still have so many ideas for this season and I can't wait to write it all!

 **lovinurbuks:** Hi there! Thank you so much for reviewing! Ava is a cutie and I can't wait to have Damon see her again. Cassandra and Elena are likely to butt heads during this season because of their own ways of grieving. The new TO story is up and running, so please give it a read and review!

 **Shining Ruby:** I'm glad to have Vanessa back too. I missed having her and Ava is absolutely in love with her. Thank you so much for reviewing :)

 **PJOCAMPERS:** Yay! That makes me happy! Thank you for reviewing :)

 **Guest:** I'm glad you love it so far! Thanks for reviewing!

 **Dassandra:** Here's your update! Hope you enjoyed reading it and thanks so much for reviewing :)

 **Guest:** Here is your next update :) I hope you liked it! The new TO story is up and running, so please give it a read.


	3. Welcome to Paradise

**The Long Way Home**

 **Chapter 3: Welcome to Paradise**

 **Beta:** PrincessOfSilence

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing of TVD. I only own my characters and my story.

* * *

"Morning!" Elena chirped happily when Cassandra opened the front door. The hybrid gave her a raised eyebrow, a bit surprised to see her so early in the morning and so damn cheerful. She then remembered that Alaric had compelled Elena to forget the memories of Damon and Bonnie, so naturally the young vampire was rid of her grief and suffering.

 _Oh, if it could only be so easy_ , Cassandra scoffed to herself. Taking a deep breath and counting to ten, Cassandra stepped aside, allowing Elena to come inside with her tray of coffees and a paper bag filled with delicious smelling treats. The hybrid convinced herself that if Elena hadn't brought the goodies that she'd still be standing on the front porch ringing the doorbell.

"Morning," Cassandra mumbled behind Elena and closed the door before following her into the living room where Vanessa was sitting with Ava in her lap. The three of them had just started watching Disney's Cinderella when they're movie date had been interrupted by Elena ringing the bell. Vanessa glanced at Elena, giving a small smile, but Ava's eyes were glued to the TV. She was much too taken with Cinderella dancing around her room with her animal friends.

"So," Elena plopped down on the couch and put the tray and bag on the table. "I've brought some snacks. I figured you guys were hungry."

"We already ate breakfast," Cassandra replied, but took up a coffee anyway. She had a sudden hankering for pancakes with blueberry smiley faces. Ava was too young to eat them, but Cassandra mashed up some small pieces to feed to her.

Elena reclined back on the couch. "Man, I needed my coffee after last night."

"Last night?" She wondered.

"Mmhmm," the vampire took a long sip. "Caroline came over after I hung out with Ric and we went to a party. Kinda regretting it because I have to put in hours at the hospital today."

"How come you're not there now?" The hybrid asked, secretly wanting Elena's sunshiny attitude to hit the road.

"Well, I was getting to that." Elena turned herself on the couch to face Cassandra. "When I'm done with my hours, I'm going to a party at the swimming hole and I want you to come with me."

Cassandra's eyes nearly bugged out of her head for more than one reason.

"Elena...I have a kid."

"Come on, Cassandra." Elena rose from the couch to stand in front of her friend. "When's the last time you had a day off?"

"I'm a mom now; I don't get days off." She answered and took up Ava from Vanessa who reached for her coffee and the paper bag. "Besides, I doubt a bunch of college kids want to see me in a bikini swinging from a rope and diving into a dirty, disgusting lake."

"But, it'll be fun." Elena whined, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"No thanks, Elena. Ava and I are perfectly fine watching Cinderella." She shook her head and kissed Ava's forehead. Ava's blue eyes seemed to dance just hearing the princess's name and she stuck her fist in her mouth with a huge grin seeing the talking mice on the TV screen.

"What about you, Vanessa?" The vampire in question raised her eyebrows at Elena.

"Me?" She gaped. "No, thanks. Besides, I'm watching Ava today."

"Actually you watched her yesterday when I went to get my hair colored." Cassandra corrected her and ran a hand through her locks. She'd needed a subtle change and decided to tint her chocolate curls with a warm, deep maroon. It was just noticeable enough to make someone look twice and it reminded Cassandra of autumn when the leaves had begun to fall from the trees. At first she'd been hesitant about the color, fearing that it would be too bold, but Ava had no qualms trying to put the hair in her mouth.

"So, that's what looks different about you." Elena grinned and did a once over of Cassandra's curls. "I like it a lot."

"Thanks." The hybrid rocked Ava back and forth in her arms. "I thought I needed a little bit of a change. And I know that Vanessa will be happy to attend the party. Right, Ness?"

Vanessa bit her bottom lip and grumbled, "Fine..."

"That settles it then." Elena clapped her hands excitedly and Vanessa tried to protest, but the vampire wasn't listening. "I'll see you there." She danced out the front door and Cassandra let out a breath. She'd been holding her tongue, trying to keep herself calm even though she wanted to blow her top at Elena and she was a bit proud of herself for not exploding.

"Gee. Thanks." Vanessa deadpanned.

Cassandra chuckled softly. "Well, I think you need a day of normalcy."

"Yeah...but with college boys? I already did all that." Her nose crinkled at the not-so-pleasant memories of going to wild parties when she was in school. Sure, she had fun, but that time in her life was over. Ava bounced in her mother's arm, as if to tell her to stop being so moody and watch Cinderella like they had planned for their day and Cassandra sat herself down on the couch with Ava on her lap. The movie played on and everyone sat in silence, enjoying a quiet day. Ava had fallen asleep at some point during the movie and Cassandra cradled her closely, kissing her forehead.

"I guess I feel a little guilty," Cassandra said softly.

Vanessa looked at her friend over her shoulder. "Guilty?"

"Well, you're here helping me take care of Ava when you should be living your own life." She shrugged. "I mean, I never asked you if you wanted to help me; I kind of just expected it and that's not right. You should be making your own choices, seeing the world, meeting new people."

The vampire moved closer to her friend and sat beside her. "Listen, you're my friend. I would do anything for you and for Ava too. I love you guys. You practically raised me when I was first turned into a vampire. Yeah, wasn't the easiest kid to look after, but I think I turned out okay."

Cassandra laughed at that, but it lulled into a wide smile; she was really lucky to have Vanessa as a friend. There were some days she wasn't sure she would have made it if it weren't for her. She knew there would be no way to thank her that would truly show her appreciation, but Cassandra was so thankful to have her best friend back in her life. Vanessa had come to her aide at a time in her life when everything around her had fallen apart. She was the only one who held her when she cried or stayed up with her till all hours of the night because Ava was wailing. She was the only one who saw her at her absolute worst and still stayed through everything.

"Thank you." Cassandra hushed.

"No need to thank me. You took care of me and now it's my turn to take care of you." Vanessa ran hand over Ava's back before placing a firm hand on Cassandra's shoulder. "The only thing you should feel guilty for is sticking me with Elena for the day."

"Let me know how that party is, alright?" The hybrid giggled and Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Maybe you'll meet a nice boy."

"Yeah...sure. A nice Greek boy. A frat boy." She deadpanned.

Cassandra slowly stood, keeping Ava nuzzled in her arms. "Come on, let's put her down in her crib and pick you out a bikini."

"Greeeaat."

* * *

"Let me do it."

"You did it last time."

"Just give it to me."

"You're such a baby!"

Two pairs of hands fought over the bar of the red shopping cart that was being wheeled down the deserted aisles of the grocery store. Bonnie and Damon tried to elbow one another in efforts to gain control of the cart, but their fighting got them nowhere. It was that time again. The pair had run out of provisions for the house and they took very special trips into town to pick up some much needed items. These trips always started off fun...somewhat, but they would quickly escalate into an argument about the pancake mix or the kind of milk they were going to buy. Damon glared at Bonnie, jerking the cart over to his side of the aisle and she let him.

"I got it." Damon grumbled stubbornly.

"Okay." She picked up a piece of paper from the shopping cart and squinted her eyes at Damon's scrawled handwriting. "We need strawberries."

"Mmhmm." He nodded and continued to push the cart along the aisle.

"Eggs, milk and...ooh candles." She grabbed a large white candle from the shelf and set it down in the cart, causing Damon to raise an eyebrow at her.

"I know it's been awhile, but you couldn't do magic as an anchor, so I'm curious what momentary lapse reason makes you think you can do it now?" He asked as they turned the corner to another aisle.

"You know, when all this started, you sucked at making pancakes but now they're somewhat edible." She shrugged before pointing to one of the refrigerators. "Milk."

Damon stopped the cart, opened the fridge, took out a large carton of milk and placed it in the cart next to the candle. It wasn't their first shopping trip, but Damon still couldn't get over how eerie it was to be in a store when it was completely empty. All the lights were kept on and large refrigerators were left plugged in and every day, the store was exactly how it was from when they left it from their last shopping experience.

"There's no reason to be Peter Pessimist." She added and pranced over to a rack of sunglasses. She plucked up a pair with blue tinted shades and rested them on her eyes. "We have proof we're not alone."

"First of all. Don't nickname, that's my thing." He gestured to himself and followed Bonnie to the rack with the glasses. He took a pair that was similar to hers and set them on his face, the blue shades obscuring his visions. "And this proof; this mysteriously filled in crossword, could very easily have been you."

"I didn't. Fill. It. In." She stressed for the thousandth time.

"No. You don't know you filled it in. You also don't know that you talk in your sleep." He pointed out and stopped in front of one of the fridges. "Eggs."

Bonnie opened the fridge beside them and grabbed the eggs, setting them down in the cart with care. "What are you saying? Are you saying I sleep crossword?" She narrowed her eyes at him from behind her sunglasses.

Damon took off his sunglasses and snatched the carton of eggs from her. "I'm saying it makes more sense than the alternative."

"I get what you're doing," Bonnie said and removed her glasses.

"What am I doing?" He wondered aloud and continued down the aisle.

"You refuse to have hope that you'll see Cassandra and Ava again, so you don't have to be disappointed," she said and Damon felt his insides twinge. Bonnie wasn't completely wrong, but she wasn't entirely right either. He wanted to believe that there would be a way back to his wife and daughter, but after being stuck in this same day prison for four months, his hope was beginning to crumble. He often wondered if Cassandra had moved on; as much as it pained him to even think about her living her life without him in it, he would rather her be happy than grieve over his loss.

"I do have hope, Bon. I just don't like to say I do too loud because The Universe likes to laugh at me and take away what's mine." He reminded her. They turned another corner at the end of the aisle and Bonnie let his words mull over in her brain. She knew how Damon could be, but one thing was absolutely certain, he loved Cassandra and Ava more than anything in the entire world. She could see the glimmer of hope in his eyes whenever he talked or even thought about them and it broke her heart to see him so down on himself. Her eyes lifted from her feet to keep watch of where she was going, but she suddenly stopped seeing something out of place on one of the shelves.

"Pork rinds." She whispered.

Damon's nose wrinkled curiously. He reached into the cart and grabbed their shopping list. "Not on the list and eww."

"No, Damon." She gestured to the shelf where bags of pork rinds normally sat, but today there were no pork rinds. "There were pork rinds on this shelf. There have been pork rinds here on every shopping trip we've had for the past 4 months."

Damon didn't want to believe it, but Bonnie was right. After four months, he pretty much memorized the store and what aisles carried what items. He partly did it to make their shopping trips less excruciating then they already were. He peered at the empty shelf and pursed his lips thoughtfully. Neither of them had ever bought pork rinds during their shopping trips. Bonnie didn't seem like the pork rind munching type while Damon would rather not know what they tasted. So, if they didn't buy them...who did?

A soft melody from outside the store vibrated inside his ear canal and Bonnie heard it too. For a few long moments, they didn't dare say anything. They just listened to see if the sound was really real or if they were going insane from reliving the same day over and over again.

"You hear that?" Bonnie asked him and Damon nodded. Forgetting the cart, she hurried outside, stepping onto the porch with Damon following closely behind her. Off to the side, a small carousel was spinning, the horses moving up and down with the melody they had heard moments ago. Bonnie was no amateur when it came to rides like these. She'd always enjoyed them as a child, but she knew that in order to make the rides work, they needed money. A coin must have been put in the slot, but there was no one in sight. Damon just stood there, completely perplexed as he watched the horses go around and around.

"You hear that, Damon? That's what hope sounds like." She grinned.

* * *

Vanessa killed the engine on her car as she pulled up to the swimming hole and she sincerely wished that she put up more of a fight when Elena had invited...no, expected her to come. She could have been a real bitch and told Elena that she refused to go with someone as selfish as her, but Vanessa wanted to keep a calm head for herself and for Cassandra. The last thing anyone needed was a huge blowout and Vanessa knew that Cassandra would tear Elena to shreds in seconds if things got ugly. So, being the friend who didn't want to make waves would be her new title for now. She grabbed her bag and exited the car, making sure to lock it in the event that some drunk college kid would mistake it for their car and try to drive it home.

The swimming hole was crawling with Whitmore students. Many of them were in the murky lake water, making Vanessa cringe at the kind of creatures that called the lake their home. She made a mental note to stay far away from that lake no matter how hot it got. She pushed her sunglasses up higher on the bridge of her nose and checked her reflection in the car window. Her short hair was swept over to one side and she adjusted her white tank and denim shorts which hid a blue bikini underneath. She gave herself a once over and then moseyed on over to the swimming hole, hoping to find a familiar face. Her search was halted when she heard cheering for a girl who had swung from the rope and flipped into the lake.

 _Show off_ , she scoffed to herself. The girl then bobbed up out of the water and threw her hands up for a victory cheer and Vanessa's jaw dropped seeing that it was Elena who had landed the trick. Deciding to take the high road and ignore it, she looked to find someone else to spend her time with, but before doing that she needed a drink if she was going to endure this party. She came across a table filled with cups and every kind of alcohol under the sun, but nothing tickled her fancy. She just wasn't in the mood to party, so she filled a red cup with ice and cranberry juice.

"Not really your scene is it?" The teasing voice made her turn and she smiled at Matt Donavan who was standing with another young man.

"How'd you guess?"

Matt shrugged with a wry grin on his face. "Just a good guess."

"Well, then. You're an awfully good guesser." She joked and pointed out to the lake. "Looks like Elena is having the time of her life."

"Yeah, she's different since..." He trailed off realizing that his friend was within earshot. He gave her a raise of his eyebrows, communicating to her about Alaric's compulsion. "Well, you know."

Vanessa nodded knowingly as if it was their secret. "Oh, I know."

"Yo, Donavan!" Matt's friend slurred. "Are you gonna introduce me or are you just gonna stand there?"

Matt rolled his eyes and gave a sigh. "Right. Vanessa, this is Jay. We're in the training program in Mystic Falls."

"Nice to meet you." Vanessa greeted politely and Jay winked at her.

"Can I get you a drink?" He asked.

"Oh, no thanks." She held up her cup. "I'm good."

"I think I'm gonna get another one."

"I may be driving, but if you puke in my truck, I'm gonna kill you." Matt threatened him.

She looked back at the lake again to see Elena arguing with Jeremy. It was a verbal confrontation, but Vanessa could hardly hear it with all the sounds surrounding her. Beside Jeremy was a girl with darker skin and hair than Elena's and it almost seemed like she was shrinking into the water as Elena continued to berate Jeremy. She covered her arms over her chest to try and hide her bikini clad body and she quickly dismissed herself to leave Elena and Jeremy to their bickering. The girl was now walking up to where Vanessa, Matt, and Jay were standing, her eyes darting about nervously. As she was making herself a drink, Jay's hungry eyes roamed her body, making Vanessa gag. It was bad enough watching him leer at her own body.

"You know, dog bite girl's kind of hot. In, like, a trashy way, though," he said as soon as the girl walked past them.

"Dog bite girl?" Vanessa wondered.

"Why do you keep calling her that?" Matt asked him.

"Because it's ridiculous." Jay scoffed. "She comes running into town with a bite wound on her neck and she's bleeding everywhere. She said some kind of dog bit her when she was jogging along the border."

"The border?" Vanessa stammered. Cassandra had told her about the day she found Elena feeding on a girl just outside of town. Sadly, the girl managed to escape since Cassandra, Elena and Caroline could not cross the barrier into Mystic Falls. Jeremy was here at a party, making out with the same girl that Elena had bitten and compelled.

"The whole story is stupid. What kind of dog bites you in the neck?" Jay grumbled and took another sip of his beer.

"I don't know, man I've seen some pretty vicious dogs." Tyler walked up to the group.

"Hey Tyler." Vanessa smiled.

"What's up, Ty?" Matt asked.

"I just got a text from Elena; she wants to see us." He waved his phone.

"Hold on." Jay interrupted their small talk. "Are you telling me that you think a girl with two puncture wounds in her neck got bit by a dog?"

Tyler pursed his lips thoughtfully. "I think if that's what she said then that's what happened."

Jay laughed obnoxiously. "Then you're an idiot."

"And you're a wasted douchebag. We all have faults." Tyler wiggled his eyebrows at Jay.

"You want to say that a little louder?" The man hissed, getting into Tyler's face.

"Jay, back off." Matt warned him.

"No, no, no. I think you just called me a douchebag. I just want to make sure." Jay shoved Tyler hard and Matt immediately jumped in between in hopes to keep their attitudes calm.

"Whoa, Jay! Jay, what you're doing right now, definition of a douchebag." He said, but Jay was far from backing down. Vanessa rolled her eyes and gently nudged Matt and Tyler aside. She held his shoulders and locked eyes with him.

"Calm down, toughie." She smirked. "You want to get us some drinks."

Jay stepped back from her, blinking a few times before looking between Matt and Tyler. "Heh. I was just playing. You guys want beers?"

"We'd love some." The blonde vampire grinned and patted his shoulder as he walked off.

"Thanks, Vanessa." Tyler let his shoulders sag, his anger simmering down.

"You know you shouldn't have done that." Matt tsked. "You know the compulsion will lift as soon as he walks back into town.

"Well, then it's a good thing I don't live in town, right?" She shrugged coyly and toasted the boys.

* * *

Damon closed the switch box of the horse carousel and he looked up at Bonnie who was standing proudly with her arms across her chest. A smirk lined her lips and she tapped on one of the horse's saddles. She watched him play with wires, as if he knew anything about faulty wires, but he found that each colored wire was intact inside the switch box. The vampire sat back on his haunches, a hand pressed against his face.

"Believe me now?" Bonnie asked wryly, but Damon didn't answer her.

"Come on, Damon! Have a little faith!" She smacked his shoulder.

"It's probably busted." He rubbed his shoulder.

"Or someone put a quarter in it and turned it on," she said.

"You know, I'm a little confused with all this misplaced hope. Let's just say there's some one here. How do you know we're gonna get out?"

"Well, you say that this is your hell right? If there's someone else here, that means it's not your hell, and if it's not your hell that means Grams put us here, and if Grams put us here there's a way out," she countered.

"That's a hell of a logic knot you've tied for yourself," he muttered under his breath.

"Thank you. So, now that we have properly placed our hope, let's play a game. When we get out—"

"Bon," he stopped her train of thought before it could leave the station. "Just don't talk about this anymore."

The vampire turned on his heel and bounded off the porch, leaving Bonnie speechless. Even with the smallest shred of possibility that they could go home, Damon chose to throw it to the wind. Damon may have wanted to rain on her parade, Bonnie was not going to let him ruin it. With a huff, she jogged after him, but was suddenly stopped cold when she saw a particularly familiar looking care parked in the lot. Her gaze passed between Damon's form and the car, almost unable to truly believe that she was seeing what she was seeing.

"Damon..." She called and much to her surprise, he stopped and turned back to face her.

"What?" He growled, but was taken aback by Bonnie's shocked expression. He followed her eyes to what she was focused on and he soon felt his own eyes popping out of his head. He staggered closer to the vehicle and checked the plate number to really make sure, but low and behold, his beloved Camaro was sitting in the parking lot.

"That's my car," he whispered, as if afraid to jinx himself. Once he was close enough, he gently laid a hand on the hood. His car, the one he'd blown up four months ago was here and brand new.

"It's my car!" He hopped inside, finding the keys resting in the glove compartment and Bonnie had approached him just as he interested the key in the ignition and turned it. The engine started smoothly, just like it always had and Damon smirked as it purred softly like a kitten. He placed his hands on the wheel and pretended to drive it.

"Vrrrmm, vrrrmm!" Bonnie had to roll her eyes as she watched a nearly two hundred year old vampire make noises as if he was a seven year old playing with a toy car. Although she had to admit, this Damon was much more pleasant than Debbie Downer Damon.

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Shh, shh, shh, shh." Damon put a finger up to his lips. "This sound is the opposite sound of your voice, and I so enjoy it."

"How did it even get here, Damon? Did you leave it here in 1994?" She asked him.

"I don't know, Bonnie. It was 18 years ago. Had a lot going on that day." He shrugged.

"Okay, so you admit that it's pretty unlikely that you did."

"Very unlikely."

"Which would stand to reason that..." She made a gesture with her hands to tell him to finish her thought.

"Someone may have put it here." Damon said and Bonnie nodded.

Suddenly, a dark shadow sped past the corners of their eyes and it made their nerves stand on end. Damon exited his car and stood beside Bonnie. He caught the movement going into the grocery store and he felt Bonnie gently elbow his ribs.

"Did you just see that?"

"I did that time. Let's go meet our little friend."

* * *

The blonde vampire hummed a soft tune in time with the ice that was clinking in the bags she was carrying back to the swimming hole. Caroline had kindly asked her to fetch some from the trunk of her car while she had a sit down with Elena. In hopes of keeping everyone she loved within arm's reach, Elena invited everyone to the swimming hole as a chance for all of them to reconnect, but her efforts were stomped on when everyone gave their own excuses for not wanting to hang out with the group. Matt had to make sure Jay got home safe, Tyler wanted to stay away from alcohol to keep his rage in check, Vanessa had planned on leaving soon to get back to Cassandra and Ava, and Caroline was annoyed that Stefan wasn't answering his calls. Vanessa felt bad for Elena, but she didn't blame why they had all turned their backs on her. None of them agreed with her decision to compel away the memories of Bonnie and Damon, but they couldn't exactly tell her that because she had no recollection that she had been compelled to begin with. The group had disbursed, so that Caroline could have a moment alone with Elena. Vanessa wasn't sure what they'd talk about, but she didn't want to stay to find out.

A quiet rustle in the brush made Vanessa slow her pace to a stop. Her ears tuned in on the sounds around her, a tweeting bird, a creaking branch, a distant footstep. Her green eyes took notice of every movement in the forest, a squirrel munching on an acorn, a leaf or two falling from a tree, a looming figure in her peripheral vision. A shot rang out and Vanessa swung the bag of ice through the air. A bullet pierced the plastic, sending bits of ice all over the forest floor. Jay cursed at his missed shot and reloaded his gun, but Vanessa was already on the move. She dropped the other bag at her feet and zoomed towards him, knocking the gun from his hands and sending out another shot. She pounced on him, pinning his body down to the forest floor, but one of his hands had gotten free. He punched her in the chest and kneed her in the ribs. With the vampire temporarily disabled, Jay produced a stake from his pocket and used his body weight to sit on Vanessa. He tried to bring the stake down, but her hands gripped his wrist, pushing the pointed wood away from her. Vanessa growled loudly, bearing his fangs and she could see the imminent fear in Jay's dark eyes.

She thought he would back down, but his adrenaline kicked in exponentially. He overpowered her and buried the stake in her shoulder. She howled and shoved Jay off of her and into the trunk of a tree. As she struggled with the wood in her shoulder, she could hear him reload and take aim. Her blood on the stake made her hands slippery and unable to firmly grab the weapon. She looked at Jay just as his finger squeezed the trigger. The shot never came, the bullet never left the chamber. Jay's limp body fell forward, landing on the gun and Vanessa could see a sharpened tree branch sticking out of his back. Enzo stood over him, smirking proudly and he nudged Jay's body with his foot. Vanessa staggered to her feet and tossed the bloodied stake that she finally managed to remove to the ground.

Enzo tsked at the nearly melted ice that turned the dirt muddy. "That was Caroline's bag of ice."

Vanessa sent him a look and walked to pick up the other bag. "She'll live."

"You know, this is the part where you—"

"Fall into your arms?" She finished for him. "Not likely, Enzo."

"No, I meant the part where you say thank you, but I wouldn't mind you falling into my arms." He grinned wolfishly at her.

"Fine." She slung the bag over her good shoulder. "Thank you, Enzo."

"You flatter me, darling." His smirk could make any woman fall into his arms, she thought.

The blonde vampire looked back at Jay's body. "So, what do we do about him?"

Enzo dug around for his phone in his pocket and typed on the screen. "We'll get someone to take care of it."

"He was in the training program with Matt," she added. "Does this mean that Mystic Falls is churning out vampire hunters now?"

"Why? That makes no sense." Enzo shook his head. "There are no vampires allowed in."

"Yeah, but Elena was having a buffet at the border. Maybe her activity caused the town to freak out," she said. "But Liz wouldn't approve a program like that."

"Maybe someone else is running it under her nose?" Enzo guessed just as Caroline sped up to them. Her blue eyes widened seeing the dead body at their feet and she immediately whirled on Enzo.

"What did you do?!"

"He saved me, Caroline." Vanessa interjected and Enzo puffed his chest out proudly. "This jerk-off would have killed me if Enzo hadn't come along."

"We think someone in Mystic Falls is running a program to turn the new trainees into vampire hunters," Enzo spoke up.

Caroline was in disbelief. "No...my mom wouldn't do that."

"I know she wouldn't," the blonde said. "We think it's someone else."

"Okay, uhm," Caroline paced back and forth for a moment with her hands in her hair. "Alright, I'll call my mom and see what the heck is going on and you two get rid of the body."

"Fine." Enzo nodded and Caroline vanished. The vampire bent down, picking up Jay's body and slinging it over his shoulder.

"Damn," Vanessa picked at her now bloodied tank top and made a noise at the back of her throat.

"I guess that means you'll have to take a dip in the lake to wash the blood off." He winked. "Better yet, just burn the shirt. Not like you need it."

"You're gross." She scowled at him and started to walk back to the swimming hole. "Come on, let's get rid of this guy before someone notices he's gone."

Vanessa took another step and the bag of ice that was slung over her shoulder broke. Ice ran down the backs of her legs and crashed to the floor, making her grimace at what Caroline would say if she saw it. The vampire tossed the empty bag to the floor, deciding it best to just cut her losses and give up on being the ice bearer.

"Crap," she muttered and continued walking, but she could hear Enzo chuckling from behind her.

* * *

Damon and Bonnie decided to split up once they entered the store, figuring that they would cover more ground and find this mysterious figure that way. The vampire stepped lively, yet quietly through each aisle, not wanting to frighten away whoever else was here with them. Each movement was carefully calculated to make virtually no noise; he couldn't even hear Bonnie who was on the other side of the store and thanked his lucky stars that she wasn't a bull in a china shop. He rounded the corner where he saw the missing pork rinds and almost cleared the shelf when he heard someone crunching from behind the shelf. He froze, making sure it wasn't his mind playing tricks on him, but when he heard a second and third crunch, he made his presence known by walking out from behind the shelf.

A young kid, no older than twenty was lounging in a beach chair among the assortment of patio furniture in the aisle. A box of large umbrellas were situated behind him, a few were open and leaning over him as if he was shading himself from the sun which made Damon question his sanity. The kid was munching on a bag of pork rinds and didn't notice Damon till he looked up.

"Oh, hey, sorry." He popped another pork rind into his mouth. "I didn't see you there, Damon. Sorry, manners. I'm Kai. Nice to meet you."

Kai offered the stunned vampire the bag in his hand. "Pork rind?"

Damon didn't answer Kai, thinking he was having a hallucination of some sort, but the constant crunching of Kai's pork rinds was quickly putting him on edge. "That is gonna have to stop."

"Oh, you think this is annoying?" He wondered. "Hmm, try listening to you and Bonnie bicker every five minutes."

"So, you've been following us," he guessed.

"Of course I have. You two are the closest thing I have to a TV. I mean, you're no Baywatch, but..." He trailed off and suddenly changed the subject. "Remember Baywatch?

"No, I do not." The vampire narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, man, you got to watch it. You like lifeguards, like hot ones?" He asked.

"This has been a monumentally interesting day in a sea of interesting days, so I'm gonna need to know who you are, what you're doing here, and how it relates to me, or I'm gonna rip your throat out," he warned dangerously.

"Temper's gonna get you in trouble, Damon." Kai tsked. "It's already driven Bonnie away how many times? Oh, oh, oh, wait. I know. Thirteen."

"You think my temper's bad with her? I like her. You; not so much." Damon quickly sped towards Kai and lifted him off the chair and held him in the air by his collar.

"Okay, okay! Sorry!" Kai apologized hurriedly. "Seriously. I'm just kind of rusty on the face-to-face type human interactions."

The vampire growled and dropped Kai, letting him settle on his feet. "Answers. Now."

Kai adjusted his shirt and gestured to the wall of alcohol behind Damon. "Maybe you should have a drink. That usually calms you down."

Damon didn't ask how Kai knew that a good bourbon would calm him down, but since he made the suggestion, he'd be stupid not to take it. "Thanks."

"Then makes you angry, then sad, then calm again. It's a weird cycle, and look, if you really want to know the reason I'm following you..." Kai and Damon locked eyes just as the latter lifted a newly opened bottle of bourbon to his lips.

"It's because I want to kill you."

Damon had already taken a big swig of the bourbon before realizing that it had been spiked with vervain. He suddenly coughed it out, the liquid burning his lips and mouth. It had been a long time since his body had come into contact with vervain, so feeling it again after such an absence was excruciating. He fell to his knees, coughing up the large gulp of vervained bourbon onto the tile floor of the supermarket. He glared at this punk and thought of all the wonderful ways to end his life.

"Vervain in your bourbon. Who didn't see that one coming?" Kai smirked at the fallen vampire triumphantly. He then turned his attention to the furniture in the aisle and raised an eyebrow.

"Who buys patio furniture from a grocery store? I mean, somebody must. Otherwise, it wouldn't be here." He plucked of the umbrellas from the box and wandered over to Damon who was struggling to rise to his feet.

"Now, I'm a little unfamiliar with vampires, but from what I've gathered," Kai broke the wooden stick of the umbrella over his knee and tossed away the duller piece. "A stake in the heart should do it, right?"

Damon lunged forward, his left hand tried to catch the umbrella, but Kai drove it right through the skin and bone. Blood spurted from the wound and Kai torturously turned the umbrella to cause Damon more pain.

"You always fight dirty, Damon. Like that time you and Bonnie played Monopoly and you stole from the bank. Not cool." Kai scowled disapprovingly before removing the umbrella from his hand. He watched the wound heal, but dark blood still stained his hand. "Ouch, looks like you got some blood on your wedding band. I bet you're happy your wife isn't here to see that."

"Actually, I wish she was here because she'd do worse to you than I would," Damon choked out his words and used the shelf as leverage to pick himself back up. "I'm gonna rip your head off."

"No, you're not." Kai swung the umbrella at the shelves, smashing the bottles of bourbon and the liquid burned Damon's skin. He shouted out and collapsed to the floor again as the vervain showered over him.

"I didn't know which bottle you'd take, so I vervained them all." He continued and raised the umbrella above his head to strike the vampire.

"Stay away from him!" Bonnie hissed as she appeared at the end of the aisle. Damon peeked over his shoulder, thankful that she had finally come to help him, but he was unsure of how much help she could bring considering she had no magic.

"The useless one is here. Thank God." Kai spat sarcastically. "I've watched you try to do magic for months now. What are you gonna do? Fail at me? It's embarrassing; I'm embarrassed for you."

Bonnie could feel Kai's words burn her skin much like how the vervain had burned Damon's. She took that emotion, that hurt, that anger at Kai and focused it towards a lone white candle that sat on the shelf a few yards from her. Kai thought she was useless? She'd show him useless. Like magic, a flame sparked on the candle's wick. She felt an overwhelming sense of pride warm her from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She was a witch again, she could perform spells again.

"Uh-oh." Kai frowned.

A playful smirk met Bonnie's lips at his uneasiness. She looked to Damon and uttered, "Run."

The vampire didn't think twice and sped away, leaving Bonnie and Kai in a showdown. Her dark eyes lingered on the spilled bourbon on the floor and that triggered an idea. Kai began to step back, but she wouldn't let him get away.

"Phesmatos Incendia." Fire erupted from the amber puddles, the heat licking at Kai's skin. Soon, the flames engulfed him, making it impossible for him to escape.

"Okay, okay." He dropped the broken umbrella and put his hands up in surrender.

"Giving up so soon? I'm embarrassed for you." The witch grinned. Kai went to speak, but was quickly put to sleep with a blow in the back of the head from Damon. He crumpled to the ground, just shy of the fire and Damon swung him up on his shoulder. Perhaps this weasel had some more answers for them.

"What took you so long?" He called to Bonnie across from the flames. She giggled giddily, she was finally a witch again and being a witch meant they were one step closer to going home.

* * *

A big smile came to Vanessa's lips when she heard Cassandra singing softly to Ava upstairs. It had been nighttime by the time her and Enzo were able to get Jay into the back of Matt's pickup truck. It was hard to break the news to Matt about his friend being dead, but it was even harder telling him that Jay was some kind of vampire hunter. Matt, of course, knew nothing about it and was more worried for his vampire friends that Jay could not have been working alone. He was suddenly unsure of who he could trust in his program, but he knew he had to keep his head on a swivel for anything suspicious. So much for having a normal day, Vanessa thought to herself. Today was anything but normal.

Then there was also the little incident that Caroline mentioned when she had compelled a girl to get some more ice for the coolers. It was a good idea at the time. Vanessa had failed to get both ice bags to the cooler successfully, so Caroline made one of the girls at the party get it. Jeremy, who was a witness to the compulsion, scolded Caroline, but she bit back at him, saying that it was rude for people to have warm drinks at the party. An hour or so later, the girl had come back with no ice. Jeremy noticed and asked her why. She replied that Caroline had been mean to her and she only realized it when she approached route 13, right around the entrance to Mystic Falls. Since compulsion was magic, the effects of it died out as soon as she got to Mystic Falls. This meant that Sarah, the girl Elena bit and Jeremy's latest fling, was now aware of what happened to her the day she got bit.

More drama to add to the pile.

It was the peaceful sound of Ava's snores that made Vanessa giggle and she quietly tiptoed into Cassandra's bedroom. She had just gotten herself ready for bed and was putting her curls into a ponytail at the base of her neck.

"Hey," Vanessa greeted softly, not wanting to wake Ava.

"How was the—" Cassandra turned in her spot and froze at the blood on Vanessa's tank top. She rushed towards her, taking the young girl by the shoulders.

"My God! What happened? Are you alright?!"

"Shh!" The vampire shushed her loud voice and shut the door behind them. "I'm fine. Things got a little...crazy."

"I'll say." She hushed and gestured to the edge of the bed. "Sit down."

Vanessa hopped on the bed, but tossed off her tank top first. The fabric had become matted and gross from the dried blood. "I'm fine though, really."

"Okay, start from the beginning." Cassandra handed her a large t-shirt and she sat beside her.

"Well," Vanessa yanked the shirt over her head. "One of the guys from Matt's training program attacked me. Enzo was there to help me."

"Enzo?" Cassandra questioned. "Hmm, hearing that name a lot lately."

"We think that program is training the members to become vampire hunters," she added.

The hybrid's face fell and she crossed her legs beneath her. "This is not good."

"And there's another thing," Vanessa said. "That girl Elena compelled? Sarah. She stepped over the border into town which means she remembers what happened. She might even remember you."

"Oh, no." Cassandra hushed. Granted, she didn't do anything in front of Sarah, but she was there when Elena bit her. She was involved in the situation which meant that she and Ava could be in danger along with Caroline and Elena.

"And where is she now?"

"We can't find her." She frowned. "She flew the coop, but we're all looking for her."

"I can help you."

"No, I'd rather you stay off the radar with Ava." She protested.

"What am I supposed to do? Stay here when this random girl could rat me out?"

"Look, we can argue about this in the morning. Right now, let's get some sleep."

"Okay." Cassandra sighed and hugged Vanessa tightly. "I'm just happy you're okay."

The blonde embraced her friend. "Hey, stop that now. It'll take more than some punk vampire hunter to get rid of me."

* * *

"You're awake. Good."

Kai peered at Damon and Bonnie through his hazy gaze and he had to blink a few times to get rid of the extra versions of them. He tried to move his arms and legs, but quickly discovered that he was bound down to the chair he was sitting in. Damon was facing the fire place and he was holding a poker in the crackling flames while Bonnie was seated across from Kai.

"Now for the Q&A portion of the evening." Damon continued and turned himself to face Kai.

"Let me guess. I answer right, I get a pork rind. Wrong, I get a poker." Kai guessed.

"What? No, no, no." Damon shook his head and held up the bag of pork rinds. He shook them teasingly and he watched Kai's mouth water. He took the bag and put it behind his back.

"These are for me. You just get the poker." The vampire smirked and wiggled the poker in his face.

"Yeah." Kai gulped, his gaze shifting between Bonnie and the sharp edge of the poker. "You don't have to do that."

"No?" He raised his eyebrows.

"We're on the same team." Kai said.

"Really? Do you always try and kill your teammates?" Bonnie crossed her arms over her chest.

"The important thing is that you have your magic back. It worked." He offered and Bonnie and Damon cast a glance at one another. "What, you didn't really think I'd kill Damon, did you? In what universe does that make sense? Who would kill one third of our population? I'm not a monster. I knew Bonnie would show up. She always comes back, all 13 times, and I knew with the right motivation she'd be able to access her magic, although I did get a little worried with all your bickering that Damon's life wouldn't be enough motivation."

The vampire looked far from amused with Kai's ramblings and he placed the poker against his chest. Bonnie gulped, knowing that Damon would have no problem with killing Kai, but she wanted to know what else Kai knew.

"But turns out it was. I guess that's just how you two show your friendship." He finished.

"So you did all that just to make sure I would have my magic?" Bonnie asked.

"Of course I did. Because your magic is the key to getting the hell out of here," he said proudly. Bonnie and Damon were speechless. After four months, they found someone who could help them. Because of Kai, Bonnie got her magic back and now that her magic was back, that meant that they could all go home.

* * *

 **Happy New Year everyone! I hope you guys had a safe and healthy one :) I apologize for not updating sooner, but I have been recovering from surgery. I'm okay, just super uncomfortable. Please give this chapter some love and if you haven't already, please review the next chapter of 'My Soul to Keep.'**

 **VampirePrincess11:** Thanks so much for reviewing! Everyone is very tense. It's a hard time for each individual and it is interesting to see how each person is dealing with it. Damon and Bonnie have such a wonderful friendship and I enjoy writing them so much :)

 **grapejuice101:** Ava is a cutie, right?! Sadly this chapter didn't have too many Ava moments, but there will be more to come. Thanks for reviewing!

 **CarlyLynn:** Thanks for reviewing Carly! Hmm, Cassandra definitely will not be happy with Stefan when she sees him again. I think a part of her does not want to see Stefan because she knows how much that would hurt her emotionally. I would like to see them talk it out like adults, but who knows how Cassandra will react. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I am so happy you like The Originals story as well :)

 **NicoleR85:** Thank you for reviewing Nicole! I am so glad you enjoyed it :)

 **SomebodyWhoCares:** Thanks for reviewing! Well, we know that Damon will be back in the season, but I am curious as to when Ava starts to learn about what her mom and dad really are.

 **bfireworks5:** Here's your update! Hope you enjoyed it :)

 **elisesellas:** Hello my dear! I definitely do like Bonnie and Damon's friendship and wish they did more with that on the show. I really could not stand Ivy. I was so thrilled when Enzo killed her, but she comes back as a vampire. Bad Enzo! I hope you had a wonderful holiday and a safe New Year! Talk to you soon and thank you for reviewing as always :) You rock!

 **klandgraf2007:** Here's your update! Hope you enjoyed it!

 **Guest:** Thanks for reviewing! I have a lot of interesting plans for season 6 ;)


	4. Black Hole Sun

**The Long Way Home**

 **Chapter 4: Black Hole Sun**

 **Beta:** **PrincessOfSilence**

 **Disclaimer:** **I own nothing of TVD. I only own my story and my characters.**

* * *

"And, of course, I broke into the Oval Office and took a picture of myself at the window, looking all JFK. But then, I was, like, "Wait...How am I going to get these photos developed?""

Damon's jaw clenched tightly and his gaze hardened at the sounds of Kai babbling on and on and on. This kid just didn't shut up. Bonnie reminded Damon quite frequently that they were the first people Kai must have come across for however long he was stuck in 1994 and to be patient with him, but Damon was ready to suck his blood dry if he didn't shut up soon. The only reason why he wouldn't was because according to Kai, he was the key for him and Bonnie to go home. After four endless months, the answer to their prayers had come in the form of a teenager.

"Oh my god! Just answer the damn question!" Damon suddenly exploded, stopping Kai mid-story. "How are we going to get out of this Twilight Zone?"

"I got a question for you, first." Kai shifted himself in his seat as much as he could while still being tied up. "Why do you think we're stuck on a repeating loop of May 10th, 1994? Doomed to relive a solar eclipse forever and ever, and ever."

"How the hell should I know?" Damon shrugged, taking a sip of his bourbon.

"Well, I heard you tell Bonnie this place was your own personal hell," Kai mentioned. "I'm kinda curious why."

"I found everything you asked for," Bonnie said as she entered the room with her hands full. She placed each item down on the coffee table, naming them as she set them down. "A can opener, shower drain, grinding wheel, jam, pocket knife, volume "O" of the encyclopedia, a nail, and a black marker."

"Look at all this junk." Damon grumbled to himself.

Bonnie crossed her arms over her chest and stared Kai down. "Now what?"

Kai wiggled his fingers teasingly at the witch. "Can't show you with my hands taped."

Bonnie's gaze shifted to the pocket knife on the table. She grabbed it and made her way over to Kai. Damon rose to his feet, becoming somewhat anxious that Bonnie was so quick to let Kai go after he tried to kill them the other day. Bonnie wanted to scold herself for being so trusting of Kai, but she wanted out of this 1994 prison world and Kai was their only hope on getting out.

"Bonnie..." Damon warned.

Kai kept his eyes on Bonnie who reached forward to cut the tape. "Thank you."

"Okay. Fine." The vampire watched Kai rub his sore wrists. "How is this pile of crap going to get us out of here?"

"I'll explain..." Kai trailed off, a mischievous look in his eyes. "As soon as you tell me what you did on May 10th, 1994."

"What difference does it make!?" He hissed.

"Let me put it this way. Bonnie's magic is one part of the equation. My as yet undisclosed knowledge is the other. Which means you would be hitching a ride home for free. I just want to know if you deserve to come along." He smirked wryly at the vampire. Damon flashed over to him, snatched the pocket knife from Bonnie, and lifted Kai up by his collar. He pressed the sharp blade to his neck, hardly in the joking mood.

"Or I could just torture you until you say something useful."

"If you torture me, I'll get mad, and then I won't want to help you." He spoke slowly, so Damon could catch every word and then shot a look at Bonnie. "What kind of person needs to have that explained to them?"

Bonnie sighed, reaching over and took the knife out of Damon's hand. The vampire roughly let Kai go and he adjusted his now wrinkled shirt. As much as Damon didn't want to admit it, Kai was their only hope on getting out of this hell hole.

"Play nice." The witch tsked at the vampire.

"Stop trying to impress the new guy." Damon narrowed his eyes at her.

"Why don't you just tell him your story?"

"Maybe because I don't want to talk about the worst thing I ever did, Bonnie."

"Ooh, now I'm listening." Kai smiled widely and opened the container of jam. He stuck his fingers inside, scooped out some and ate it. Bonnie cringed while Damon ground his teeth, not eager at all to tell his story.

"Okay...I was tired of tearing up New York City and I wanted a fresh start. So, I came back to Mystic Falls. After some begging, Stefan and my Uncle Zach let me stay in the boarding house." He explained. "I was there about a month or so, behaving myself, when a visitor dropped in."

"Who?" Bonnie wondered.

"Cassandra," he replied.

"Oh, your wife, right?" Kai asked and Damon shot him a look. "Sorry, I hear about her so often I feel like I know her. So, she's the one you want to get back to so badly?"

"Well, at the time we weren't married." Damon clarified. "We hadn't seen each other since the seventies."

"The seventies? What were they like?" He grinned.

"Hey," Damon interrupted. "You want to hear about my tragic past?"

Kai nodded.

"Then be quiet."

* * *

 _ **Mystic Falls, 1994**_

 _Knock._

 _Knock._

 _Knock._

 _Cassandra jutted out her hip and adjusted the mini black backpack on her shoulder, waiting on the porch of the boarding house. It had been a while since she'd been back in Mystic Falls, but she received a call when she was vacationing in Los Angeles and took the next flight she could get. She peered up at the large house and smiled at its familiarity. The outside still looked the same and she wondered if the owners called a decorator to modernize the inside. After all, it was the nineties. Styles had changed, much like they did every decade and Cassandra rather enjoyed the new fashions. She traded her eighties rocker look for much more laid back threads. Today she wore denim jeans, combat boots, a white tank top, and a flannel tied around her waist; a much needed change from her leather ensembles._

 _She rapped her knuckles on the door again, but by the lack of sounds coming from inside, no one was home. Giving a long sigh, she blew a large pink bubble with her chewing gum and it popped loudly. Then her hand gripped the doorknob and she turned it, hearing a satisfying click that the door was not locked. She pushed the door open and closed it gently behind her. Much to her surprise, the inside of the house still looked the same, but in a way, she preferred it that way._

 _"Hello?" She called into the empty house, stepping further inside. "Hi! Anyone home?"_

 _Cassandra tossed her backpack aside and took a moment to soak in the beauty of the boarding house. Her black combat boots traced her familiar steps through the foyer and into the sitting room where her gaze caught sight of a half-full glass of a dark amber liquid. A gentle thumping noise made her ears perk up in alarm. Strange, she thought. When she shouted into the house upon entering, no one answered her. The hairs at the back of her neck stood on edge, her body on high alert for any intruders._

 _A creak from upstairs made her whip around just in time to see a shadowed figure leap at her from the upper level. She held her ground and met her attacker halfway, jumping up and putting him in a headlock of sorts. The man growled and held onto her wrist before flipping her over his back. She crashed to the floor and the man pounced. The pair struggled and wrestled until Cassandra was able to overpower him. She pinned him down and flashed her sharp fangs at him._

 _"Give up yet?" She hissed and wrapped her hand around his neck._

 _The man beneath her huffed and puffed, trying to push her off him. The hand around his neck tightened and he shook his head. "Alright! Alright! I give up."_

 _Cassandra smirked and let up her grip. She hopped off the vampire and held out her hand. "You'll never learn, will you, Stefan?"_

 _Stefan chuckled and took her hand. He stood and massaged the back of his neck. "You had an advantage that time."_

 _"Oh, please." She waved her hand at him and laughed just as Damon moseyed inside the room._

 _"Well, well." He drawled, a bottle in his hand. "Look what the cat dragged in."_

 _"Hello Damon." Cassandra greeted with a casual grin. "You look..."_

 _Her brown eyes wandered up and down his form. He hadn't changed at all. Naturally his style molded to the passing years, but that same boyish charm and handsome face reminded her of the young man she met in the 1800s. He donned a leather jacket and black jeans, a grungy look even for him, but Cassandra couldn't deny that he looked good. He brought the bottle to his lips and took a long swig, making her wrinkle her nose. Still drinking his sorrows away, she sighed._

 _"Dashing? Handsome? Irresistible?" He smirked knowingly at her._

 _"Drunk." She finished for him with a grin and picked up her backpack, slinging it on her shoulder. "So, what are you doing back here?"_

 _He was going to reply, but Stefan was quick to interject. "As much as it may surprise you, Damon has decided to make amends."_

 _Cassandra raised her eyebrows in surprise. She knew there had been a rift between the two brothers, but Damon coming home on his own was news to her. "Hmm, must be the alcohol talking."_

 _Damon rolled his eyes, but had to take note of her quick wit. She's still go it, he chuckled to himself. "And to what do we owe this pleasure of seeing you?"_

 _The front door swung open, revealing Zack Salvatore who had a large brown grocery bag in his hands. He stepped over the threshold to see a newcomer in his home, however he was thrilled to see her. Stefan had introduced them when Zach was younger and the two always had a good relationship. For Cassandra, it was more family to come home too and she was thankful for that._

 _"Cassandra, welcome!" He put the bag down and hugged her._

 _"Thanks Zack." She smiled. "How are you?"_

 _"I'm good." He pulled back and picked up the bag again. "How was your trip out here?"_

 _"Oh, it was fine." Just as she was about to bore Zach with her travel stories, his girlfriend, Gail, hobbled inside. Cassandra's eyes grew so wide Stefan was afraid they would make her head explode. Gail had was carrying a shopping bag in one hand while the other was resting on her pregnant belly._

 _"Gail!" Cassandra squealed, rushing over to the woman and throwing her arms tightly around her. Gail dropped the bag, not expecting Cassandra to have such a strong hold._

 _"Easy, easy." Gail scolded playfully. "I'm only human, remember?"_

 _Cassandra unwrapped her arms from Gail and stepped back, taking her hands. "How are you feeling?"_

 _"I feel really great." Gail rubbed her bulging belly and could see that Cassandra's eyes were bubbling with a burning question. "And, yes, you can feel."_

 _With the go ahead, Cassandra placed one ear and one hand on Gail's stomach. Shortly after Cassandra had met Zach, he met Gail and the pair were inseparable. Pretty soon she had moved in and they were expecting a child together. Cassandra naturally went bonkers hearing that there would be a baby to play with. She just loved children and could not wait until this one came into the world. She and Gail giggled giddily while Damon looked on like they were insane. He hated babies, and children for that matter. He's been around long enough to understand why parents drank and grew grey hairs prematurely. Kids were messy and rude and loud. Why would anyone want one?_

 _Cassandra suddenly gasped and lifted her head up from Gail's belly, a look of pure excitement on her face. "It kicked!"_

 _"Of course it kicked." Damon grumbled. "Imagine it when it's running around."_

 _Cassandra rolled her eyes at Damon's stupid remark. "Gee, Damon. You'd take the fun out of a birthday cake."_

 _"I'm sorry, but I'm not the kind of guy that's easily excited by a screaming baby." He joked._

 _"You're such a-" She muttered under her breath._

 _"Language." Gail glared and Cassandra swallowed the rest of her insult._

 _"I'll help with the groceries," Stefan offered and Zach went with him back outside. Damon muttered something under his breath and Gail took Cassandra into the living room once they were alone._

 _"So, how was your trip?" Gail asked._

 _"Woah, hang on lady. I know you and Zach called me out here for a reason and I know it's not because you wanted me to see Damon after a decade or so," she said and Gail chuckled heartily. "Are you guys okay? Is the baby okay?"_

 _"The baby is fine." Gail rubbed her stomach feeling her daughter kick about excitedly. "We called you out here because we wanted to ask you to be the baby's godmother."_

 _Cassandra's face lit up like that of a child on Christmas morning. She opened and closed her mouth over and over again, as if unable to wrap her head around what Gail and Zach had asked of her. She hugged Gail again and this time she let her hug her as tightly as she wanted._

 _"Is that a yes?"_

 _"Oh, absolutely!" Cassandra beamed from ear to ear. "Thank you!"_

 _"We wouldn't want anyone else to be her godmother." Gail added._

 _"I'm just so happy." She couldn't wipe the smile off her face._

 _Gail took her hand, squeezing it. "Come on, I'll show you where you'll be staying."_

* * *

 _Buzz._

 _Buzz._

 _Buzz._

Cassandra moaned softly in her sleep, the vibrations of her phone against her bedside table just beginning to wake her up. She yanked the covers over her head, willing herself to go back to sleep since Ava wasn't up yet and prayed that she could get a few more hours in. For the first time in a long time, she actually dreamt. In the months since Damon's passing, her dreams consisted of black murkiness that clouded her mind. Perhaps she was just remembering the past, but it was still nice to see something pleasant in her dreams.

The vibrating stopped, but quickly started again and she groaned in frustration, gathering that whomever was trying to reach her needed her. She kept herself beneath the covers, wanting to keep the bright sunlight out of her eyes and she groped blindly for her phone on the end table. Once her hand came into contact with it, she brought it into her blanket cocoon and answered it.

"What?"

 _"Someone is awfully pleasant this morning,"_ Alaric grumbled.

"I was sleeping," she replied, her eyes still closed. "I'll make sure to call and wake you up when you have a four month old baby crawling around."

 _"Yeah, like that'll happen."_ He chuckled. _"Listen, I need a favor from you."_

"I knew this was coming." In the background, she could vaguely hear someone groaning and moaning. "Ric, don't tell me you're watching porn while you're on the phone with me."

 _"Porn? What?! No!"_ He stammered.

"We really need to get you laid."

 _"I do not need to get laid."_

"You sound awfully hostile about it."

 _"That moaning and groaning is Jeremy. He drank himself into oblivion and he's throwing up."_

Cassandra wrinkled her nose and finally threw off the covers. She had an idea where this favor was coming from. "Jeez, doesn't the kid know to pace himself?"

 _"I guess not considering he's heaving into a bucket as we speak."_ Over the speaker, Jeremy called out for Ric, making Cassandra's stomach churn.

"Gross."

 _"Yeah, I think I'm gonna take him to the hospital. Mind meeting me there?"_

"Sure," she scoffed, dragging herself out of bed and over to her closet with the phone at her ear. "It's not like I had any other plans for the day."

 _"I don't need to go to the hospital,"_ Jeremy gurgled sickly.

 _"I'm taking you to the hospital and that's the last I'm hearing about this,"_ Ric said sternly.

"I'll meet you two there."

* * *

 _ **Mystic Falls 1994**_

 _"You missed a spot." Damon's singsong voice made Cassandra cringe. She shot him a glare from behind her sunglasses and he pointed at the bumper of his Camaro. He'd driven from New York City, so naturally it had its fair share of grease and grime, so he recruited Cassandra to help him wash it. By help, he meant that he'd stand by doing a half-assed job while Cassandra did the most work. She thought it to be in her best interest just to grin and bear it; she knew how Damon could be. She was thankful for the cool spring day and the time to enjoy in the sun._

 _Cassandra rubbed the spot that Damon had indicated, catching that he was sneaking a peek at her backside while she had bent over and she tossed the rag inside the bucket filled with suds. She placed her hands on her hips, trying to look as threatening as possible in denim overalls and a pair of white Keds. Damon gave her his trademark smirk and folded his arms over his chest._

 _"Done." She picked up a dry towel and flung it at him. "I washed. Now you dry."_

 _The towel landed on his shoulder and he took it in his hand. He moseyed on over to the car and inspected it closely. Not a single trace of dirt was left on it, save for the droplets of water that were left on the car from Cassandra washing it. Once he was finished, he squinted at the sun that was shining above them._

 _"You know, we could leave the car to dry in the sun." He suggested and that earned him a scoff from his friend._

 _"Nice try, but if you don't hand dry it you'll get water marks." She informed him. He knew that, but would have rather left the car the dry on its own._

 _"Can't get anything past you." He chuckled. As he rubbed the rag against his wet car, his playful blue gaze followed the loops of the watering hose that lay on the floor. A small trickle of water was leaking from the nozzle and creating lines along the driveway. Cassandra had turned her back to Damon and was wringing out the wet rags she'd used to wash his car with. Stealthily, Damon plucked up the hose and put his finger on the trigger._

 _"Yo! Cass!" The second she turned around, she was hit with the face full of cold hose water. She let out a loud shriek and tried to guard herself from the water, but Damon angled the hose to spray her down from head to toe._

 _"Hey! Stop that!" She swatted the water away, but Damon continued to hoot and holler. "Come off it!"_

 _Damon shut off the hose and let it fall to the ground, a huge smile still tugging at his lips. He laughed long and hard while Cassandra picked at her soaked clothes. He would probably pay for his little prank later, but boy was that fun. He hadn't laughed so hard since he arrived in Mystic Falls. He knew she'd eventually turn the tables on him, but until then, he'd enjoy his victory and sleep with one eye open tonight._

 _"You're such a jerk." She grabbed a dry towel and rubbed it in her hair before drying herself off. The water had soaked through her short overalls and her white t-shirt she wore underneath it._

 _"Sorry, Cass. I just couldn't help myself." He said when he finally calmed down. "You know, I can compel some of the female boarders and we can have a wet t-shirt contest."_

 _Cassandra tossed her now wet towel at him, but he dodged it. "You're still a perv after all these years."_

 _"You forget, princess. I don't change," he said and leaned against the hood of his car._

 _"Well, you're back home and trying to make amends. That's gotta count for something." Cassandra pursed her lips and tilted her head._

 _Damon shrugged as if he decision to come home meant nothing at all to him. He'd been on his best behavior, minus busting Cassandra's chops or mocking Stefan's hairdo, but he was walking the straight and narrow. As much as he liked this return to normalcy, deep down he knew he hated it and most importantly, he hated himself for conforming to an image of himself he knew he could not hold for long. He knew he was a ticking time bomb, ready to obliterate everything in his path. He didn't intentionally do it; it was just his nature, something his goody two shoes of a brother would never understand. It had gone back to the time he was a young boy; he would just mess up. He had good intentions, but no one ever saw that. Not his father, not Stefan, not Katherine...no one._

 _Even after years of not seeing Damon, Cassandra could clearly see the war going on inside of him. From when they first met in the 1860s, she'd been blessed with an intuition so strong that she could tell that something was eating him. He didn't have to say a word because she already knew that he was conflicted or bottling up his emotions. It amazed her that she still had that connection with Damon, but it made her unhappy that he hadn't changed when it came to showing his emotions. Damon was the kind of man who would make a joke whenever something or someone hurt him and to the common person, they would regard it as nothing, but Cassandra knew that the damage done would be enough to fill the Grand Canyon._

 _"You know, you don't have to change who you are, Damon. Sometimes who you are is enough." She added._

 _"Not for Stefan," he grumbled._

 _"Hey, Stefan's not perfect. Neither of us are. We've messed up and made mistakes, but we come to accept them." Cassandra could watched as his jaw tensed and his gaze stared off into the woods beyond the property. She moved herself to lean on the hood beside him, crossing one ankle over the other._

 _"I kinda came here to start over too." Her comment broke Damon's brooding and he glanced at her. She nodded and flashed him a pearly white smile._

 _"I have family that still live here and some that are scattered in the U.S. I want to get to know them and become a part of their lives." Damon steeled a glance at her, noticing how the sun casted shadows along her ageless features. He thought she had come back to be the godmother to Zach and Gail's baby, but there was more to her trip than met the eye. Damon's first time meeting another Salvatore other than his brother was when he met Zach. Pretty soon, Zach would marry Gail, Gail would give birth and another Salvatore would be brought into the world._

 _"Being vampires, we're supposed to live in the shadows and just exist in darkness, but I don't want that for me," she continued. "I want to live. Really, really live."_

 _Being with Cassandra like this reminded him of the many times they would sit and talk before they were turned. It was as if the world around them became null, a calming silence falling over the sounds in the background. In those moments, he felt at peace with himself, as if nothing could break him or that no one could pass judgment on him. Their tender moment was spoiled however by Stefan exiting the shed with a toolbox in his hand._

 _Cassandra patted Damon on his shoulder. "You think about what I said."_

 _Damon heaved a heavy sigh watching his friend turn away from him and walk towards the boarding house. Seeing her walk away from him was the thing he hated most. She calmed him, she reminded him that he wasn't the image that people perceived him to be. For a moment, he was filled with pride in just being himself because he was enough. Stefan set his toolbox down beside Damon's car and watched him watch her walk away. He'd always thought that there was something between the two, but he kept his assumptions to himself although he was curious as to what they were talking about._

 _"You ready to open the hood?" Stefan asked and Damon snapped back into himself._

 _"Sure." He replied and both brothers began to take out the tools from the box and set them aside. Cassandra had stopped midway hearing Stefan and Damon talking and she glanced over her shoulder at them. A frown flitted across her lips watching Damon slip back into his facade. She loved Stefan like a brother, but he had to stop holding Damon up to such high standards. Damon was Damon and that was enough._

 _She walked by the metal bucket that held the dirty, soapy water from washing the car and she put her foot against it to knock it over, but an idea popped inside her crafty little mind. Casting a glance over her shoulder again, she quickly hauled up the bucket and waited until Damon had his back turned. Damon had his fun when he hosed her down, but she would show him that she was not one to be trifled with. She put a finger up to her lips to keep Stefan silent as he stared on at her with raised eyebrows. Cassandra giggled softly and drew closer to the unsuspecting vampire._

 _"Yo Damon!" He turned and was immediately met with a bucketful of soapy water. For a moment, Damon stood frozen in shock while Stefan, who had dodged the water was laughing out loud. Even Cassandra was chuckling at Damon's soaking appearance. His wet hair was now covering his eyes and his tank top stuck to his chiseled body. He swooped a hand across his face, clearing the hair from his eyes and blinking the water away. Cassandra winked at him and placed the bucket down._

 _"Now we're even," she called and sashayed into the boarding house, a huge grin on her lips the entire time._

 _"She got you." Stefan slapped his brother's shoulder._

 _"Yeah...she did." He genuinely smiled as he watched her prance away._

 _"Come on, let's take a look at this bad boy." His brother handed him a towel and propped the hood of the car up. Damon dried himself off and flipped open the toolbox just as Zach's car pulled up in the driveway. He got out and rushed around the other side to help Gail out. She slid off the seat and moved to get something from the back of the car, but Zach insisted that she go inside. With a quick kiss that she pressed to his cheek, she waved to the Salvatore boys who smiled back at her._

 _"How's it going, Zach?" Damon asked him. Zach reached in the back and took out a large brown paper bag and carried it up the driveway. "What's up with all the grocery trips?"_

 _"Oh, one of the boarders is craving blueberry pancakes." Zach said with a smile and pointed to Gail who waddled into the house._

 _"You know, maybe I should run the Salvatore boarding house." Damon thought aloud. "Take over for Zach, get in good with Gail..."_

 _Stefan could immediately see where his brother's mind was going, so he thought to put a stop to it right away. "She's on vervain. So is Zach, which means hands off."_

 _His brother rolled his eyes dramatically and stood by while Stefan pointed out what was wrong with his car, but he was still thinking about his plans for the boarding house. Sure, Zach and Gail were on vervain, but that didn't mean he couldn't work around it._

* * *

Damon's memories were disturbed by Kai's loud and obnoxious snores as he lay comfortably on the couch. Bonnie, however, was on the edge of her seat as Damon spoke so openly about his past. She'd never seen him so vulnerable before, so she wanted him to continue, but she worried he might snap Kai's larynx if he kept snoring. Damon rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair, a glass of bourbon in his hand.

"Perfect." He mumbled. "Our savior's insane and narcoleptic."

"No, no, no, I'm awake." Kai opened one eye and smirked at the vampire. "Let me guess...you killed the pregnant woman."

"Shut up, Kai. You weren't listening." The vampire hissed.

"I was listening, in my sleep." He then sat up with his back against the couch. "You were hanging out with your distant-nephew Zach, who you called Uncle Zach, because that's not confusing. You also had the hots for Cassandra, but were too stubborn to tell her. Plus, pregnant lady Gail, who had a big bull's-eye on her chest. Got it."

"Tell me you didn't kill a pregnant woman." Bonnie turned to Damon, her gaze filled with worry. While Damon reminisced about his past, she couldn't help but worry about Gail's fate in the scheme of things.

"Oh, that's totally what happened. Why else would today be his personal hell?" Kai's smug smirk made Damon's expression become one of anger and he leaned forward, his face close to Kai's. "Oh, here we go."

"The only reason that you're alive right now is because I thought you could get us out of here and you could help us. But you don't have any answers! You're just a man-child with jam on your fingers!" His voice rose in volume until he felt he was ready to explode. He gripped the now empty jam bottle and tossed it aside angrily. It smashed against the wall and Bonnie flinched; she hadn't seen Damon this angry in a long while.

Kai was silent for a few moments, knowing that Damon's sudden snap at him could mean that his head would find itself smushed like the jar of jam. He collected his thoughts quickly and distanced himself from the brooding vampire. "To get home, we'll harness the power of the eclipse using a mystical relic. It's called an Ascendant, and it looks like this,"

His hands plucked up a model he'd made of the Ascendant with the items that Bonnie had given him. The inner workings were composed of the circular steel items and the two outer pieces were ribbed; almost gear-like. Neither Bonnie nor Damon could fathom how an object like that could help them get out of the prison wold, but at least Kai had given them a place to start. Kai fiddled with the model, muttering something about it being flimsy and he put it back down on the table.

"The last time we had it was in the Pacific Northwest—Oregon." He continued. He then opened up the encyclopedia to a page with a map on it.

"We?" Bonnie asked.

"It belonged to my family. So..." Kai used the pocket knife to prick his index finger, letting a little dribble of blood ooze from the cut. "Here's a little blood to get you started. Now all we need is a locator spell to pinpoint its whereabouts."

Damon cast a glance to Bonnie, his temper finally subsiding now that Kai had fessed up some real answers. "Think you can find our ticket out of here, Bon-Bon?"

The witch met his unsure gaze and she smiled widely. "Hell. Yeah."

* * *

"Hey. I came as soon as I could." Cassandra said in a rush as she sat down across from Ric. "How's Jeremy?"

Alaric took a sip of his coffee. "Doctor has him on a drip. She said he'll be fine."

"Good." She nodded and peered over at Ric from under her full lashes. He had dark circles beneath his eyes and his face looked haggard. The two were seated in the cafe of the hospital on the bottom floor. Many people bustled in and out, but it was the quietest place in the whole hospital. Everyone just went about their own business, so involved in their own worlds that they hardly ever looked up when people brushed past them. Loved ones of those inside the hospital were huddled around their coffees, each of them praying for the best while nurses and doctors squeezed in a quick meal before rushing off to surgeries.

Cassandra wrapped her hands around her coffee cup and took a sip, instantly regretting it as soon as the dark liquid touched her tongue. She could feel the grounds sliding down her throat as she willed herself to swallow and not do a spit-take in the cafe. She then put the cup down and cleared her throat, still feeling the grounds scratch her. Alaric caught her sickened expression and held back a chortle. He had the same reaction when he had his first sip of hospital coffee, but he was using it as a base for the vial of blood he'd added to the mixture.

"Ugh," she grimaced. "My four month old can make better coffee than that."

Alaric grinned and took a sip of his. "Speaking of, where is Ava today?"

"Vanessa has her today." She replied just as a woman in scrubs approached their table.

"Mr. Saltzman," she greeted. "Dr. Laughlin wanted me to let you know that Jeremy is finishing his treatment."

"Thank you." He smiled at her and she turned on her heel, making her way to stand on line to purchase something to eat.

Alaric looked down at his watch and sighed heavily. "Looks like I'm gonna miss my next class."

Cassandra cleared the back of her throat and moved her coffee cup aside.  
"No offense, but shouldn't Elena be staying here with her brother? Or is she too busy enjoying her new memory-less life?"

"Actually, Elena..." His voice trailed off, rethinking even saying anything about where Elena was, but he knew that Cassandra would find out anyway and he'd be in big trouble.

"Elena is with Stefan."

"With Stefan?" Her eyebrows creased. "Stefan is in Savannah. You know, running away from his problems."

"Nope." Alaric shook his head. "He was helping Elena comb through the borders of Mystic Falls this morning looking for Sarah."

Cassandra's expression hardened and her hand grew tight around the edge of the table. She drummed her fingernails against it and took a few deep breaths. "Have they had any luck?"

Alaric shook his head again and Cassandra hummed softly, her lips pursing. He watched conflict erupt on her face and wanted to say something to ease her mind, but he wasn't sure of what words to speak to her. He knew how angry she was with Stefan's behavior and he didn't blame her one bit, but for Damon's sake, he would probably want them to reconcile at some point. As much as Alaric wanted to be that driving force, he wouldn't know how both parties would react to it.

"Look, maybe you can meet up with him before he leaves and you guys could talk." He cast his line in the stormy waters and Cassandra tugged on it.

"Talk?" She repeated. "No, if I saw him, I'd punch him so hard his hero hair would fall off."

"You two have had your disagreements in the past and you've always worked them out," he suggested.

"But this time he went too far. He just picked up and left," she countered. "No phone call, no text, nothing. He abandoned everyone in this town and I'm supposed to forgive him?"

"I didn't say anything about forgiving Stefan, but now that we're talking about it. Yes, you should." Alaric pleaded. "Do you really want your daughter to grow up without her uncle?"

Cassandra's next insult was snuffed out like the flame on a burning candle. A part of her wanted to tell Alaric where to shove his family values. Stefan clearly had no interest in knowing Ava, so why should she even know that he existed? Cassandra wanted to spare her daughter the pain of having a family member that didn't want to know her. At the same time, how bad of a mother would she be for cutting someone out of her daughter's life that she'd only met a handful of times? Stefan was the only family tie to Damon; would it really be right to take that away from Ava? Cassandra wanted Damon's memory to live no matter how painful it was for her, but how could she do that without Stefan's help?

"Cassandra?" Alaric's voice shook her from the war waging inside her and he could see a thin glaze over her eyes.

The hybrid blinked and a lone tear trailed down her face, partly startling Alaric. She quickly wiped it and cleared her throat. "I hate it when you're right."

The vampire let out the breath he'd been holding and a chuckle left his lips. He reached across the table to gently take Cassandra's hand and squeezed it firmly. "Come on, let's check on little Gilbert."

Cassandra gathered her bag, slinging it over her shoulder and she smiled fondly at one of Jeremy's many nicknames that Damon had given him. "Leave it to Damon. He could come up with a nickname for anyone."

Alaric walked with her down the hall and led her to the elevator. "He ever give me any nicknames?"

"Hmm," she thought for a moment. "Not that I can recall. Although Damon would come up with nicknames for his friends."

"Are you saying I'm not a friend?" Alaric's nose wrinkled. He pressed the button on the elevator.

"I would say you guys are more like a 'bromance' than a friendship." She smiled widely at him. The elevator dinged and the two stepped inside. The doors closed behind them and the car began to move upwards slowly.

"Yeah, well, to be fair, Damon and I haven't always been on the best of terms," he said. "He has done some pretty terrible things. I think one of the worst was when he turned Isobel into a vampire."

Cassandra's face became crestfallen and her eyes flicked to the numbers along the top of the elevator panel. They moved up one by one and she swore that it was the slowest moving elevator she'd ever been in. "Actually...that's not the worst thing he's ever done."

Alaric was suddenly taken back by her somber voice. "Do you know something that I don't know?"

"I'm not sure you want to hear it."

"Try me."

The elevator continued to move upwards at a glacial pace, passing each floor until it would reach its destination. For a few moments, the pair were in silence again and Alaric figured that Cassandra didn't have a story for her that beat his. Suddenly, Cassandra pressed the red button on the elevator and the car lurched before stopping in between floors. Ric braced himself against the wall of the elevator and Cassandra stepped back from the buttons, her cautious gaze meeting his curious one.

"I never told anyone about this." She began and pressed herself to the back wall of the elevator car. "In the nineties, Damon had come home to reconcile with Stefan. They were living at the boarding house with their Uncle Zach."

"I remember him." Ric's memory was a bit foggy, but he did recall Stefan talking about Zach Salvatore.

"Well, Zach was going to have a baby with his girlfriend Gail. They wanted me to be the godmother, so naturally I flew home." She added. "The months went by and things were going really well..."

 _The boarding house was filled with many faces from town as they came to celebrate the eclipse. Gail was bustling in and out of the kitchen with trays of sweets, stopping once and while to sneak one while Cassandra mingled with some of men from the sheriff's department. If she could get in good with them, that would mean herself and the Salvatores could fly under the radar. Stefan was talking with Zach, congratulating him and Gail on their good news. They were going to be parents to a little girl and the couple was still starry-eyed about meeting their daughter soon._

 _Cassandra accepted another drink from a handsome young deputy who was chatting about his latest bust when she caught sight of Damon with a middle aged blonde woman who smiled at every one of his jokes. The brunette rolled her eyes, leave it to Damon to turn on the charm, she ridiculed. She sipped from her glass and at least tried to be interested with the deputy's story. She shifted on her feet, jutting out her hip when the deputy waved to another one of his pals._

 _"Would you excuse me?" He pardoned himself like a gentleman and Cassandra nodded wordlessly._

 _Now alone, she looked for another face in the crowd to attach herself to, but instead she found herself staring longingly at Zach and Gail. He had his arm around her shoulder and was trying to steal a kiss while she playfully swatted him away, stating that people were eyeing them. A warm smile touched Cassandra's lips at their antics and she sighed deeply. To have a love like that would put her on top of the world. She longed for someone to look at her the way Zach looked at Gail._

 _A tiny pang of jealousy stabbed Cassandra sharply as she pondered the idea of motherhood even though knowing that it would be impossible for her. She'd always wanted to bare children, but shortly after becoming a vampire, she learned that she could never continue her legacy. While she was extremely happy for Gail, Cassandra secretly wished that she was the one with a swollen belly and waiting for a little life to enter the world. She'd always loved children and wanted one of her own, but being a vampire put a stop to that plan._

"I should have known it was too good to be true." She shook her head.

"Why? What happened?" Ric was hanging on to every word she spoke.

 _It was the sound of a crashing window and a shrill scream that made Cassandra leap from her bed and dart down the hall. Her heart pounded in her chest as she bounded to the lower level, her mind racing a mile a minute. Did something happen to Gail? Was something wrong with the baby? She was joined by Stefan and Zach, the latter arriving a few seconds after the zooming vampires. All three rushed to the living room after hearing sounds of a struggle that brought them to a horrid sight._

 _Damon held Gail in a firm headlock, a thin coating of blood painted his lips and sharpened fangs. Gail struggle within the vampire's hold and Cassandra's eyes widened at the two puncture wounds in the side of her neck. For a moment, no one said anything, as if they were all trying to wake themselves from a terrible nightmare. Damon's darkened gaze met those of the trio and he smirked, the blood on his mouth made him look even eerier._

 _"You know, I couldn't enjoy the eclipse from the shed, so I decided to come in here and join the party." He grinned evilly._

 _Damon had been on his best behavior until he bragged to Stefan that he'd managed to both Gail and Zach off vervain, so that he could feed from them without getting in trouble. Once Stefan found out, he tossed him out into the shed to do some thinking about what he'd done and his daylight ring was taken from him while he was knocked out unconscious. Unfortunately for Stefan, he underestimated his brother who waited until night before crawling back into the boarding house and biting Gail._

 _"I forgot how much stronger we are when we drink human blood," he grinned evilly._

 _"Zach..." Gail whimpered, her voice filled with horror._

 _"Damon, please don't hurt her," Zach pleaded, taking a step towards him, but Stefan's arm held him back._

 _"I want my ring back, Stefan."_

 _"I don't have it."_

 _Damon gave his brother a sly smile and tightened his hold on a shaking Gail. "Of course. You gave it to the one person you could trust with it."_

 _Cassandra gulped, suddenly feeling as if the daylight ring in the pocket of her jeans could burn a hole through the denim. Stefan had trusted her with holding his rings because he knew she wouldn't let him off the hook so easily when it came to earning it back. She was so angry with Damon and his schemes that she promised to hold onto the ring as long as she felt until Damon had learned his lesson._

 _"Give it here, princess," he sneered._

 _"Don't call me that," she snapped._

 _"Aw, I'm sorry. Did I hurt your feelings?" Sarcasm dripped from every word. "Well, you're hurting mine by holding onto my ring."_

 _"Let her go!" She demanded._

 _"Give me my ring!" He countered, his fangs practically scratching against Gail's neck._

 _"If you let her go, I'll give it to you." Her negotiation made Damon click his teeth. He tightened his hold on Gail, making Zach flinch and clench his fists at his sides._

 _"You don't have to do this." Stefan spoke. "You're not this person, Damon."_

 _"Come to think of it, brother. I am this person. A very good friend of mine told me recently that sometimes being me is enough." His gaze seared through Cassandra's and for a long while, the two held that stare. "Now, give me my ring or I'm going to rip Gail's throat out with my teeth."_

 _Cassandra gulped and slipped her hand into her pocket, grasping the object Damon so desperately desired. She fished it out and tossed it hard at him. Damon caught it and maneuvered it onto his finger. She sent an apologetic look to Stefan who sympathized with her, knowing that she had no other choice than to give Damon his ring back._

 _"There, you have your ring. Now let her go." Zach stammered anxiously._

 _"Oh, Zach. I totally forgot to tell you. See, Stefan and I have a little deal. For all of the times I've saved his sorry ass, I realized that it will take him a lifetime to repay me, so..."_

 _With that, Damon bit harshly into Gail's throat. Zach charged forward, but Stefan held him firmly. Cassandra wanted to intervene, but she didn't want Damon to lash out and hurt the baby. She shouted for Damon to stop, but Gail had already grown limp in his arms. The blue eyed vampire then dropped Gail's body to the floor and wiped his bloodied lips with the back of his hand._

 _"An eternity of misery, brother. Just like I promised."_

 _He sped from the house and Stefan finally let Zach fall to his knees at Gail's corpse. Cassandra lifted a hand to her lips, trying to cover a sob while hot tears streamed down her face. Stefan was left in shock; he tried to do something good. He tried to do right by his brother and his family, but it had all blown up in his face._

"Stefan took Gail to the hospital, but it was too late." Cassandra's voice was just above a whisper as the pair now sat side by side in the elevator. Ric's stomach was in knots and his vocal chords were tangled. His mind kept running, replaying Damon's actions over and over and over again.

"So, Stefan compelled him to forget about Gail."

"And the baby?"

Cassandra swallowed hard; as if she was downing a pill. "Dead on arrival. Stefan said there was nothing the doctors or vampire blood could do."

Ric ran a hand over his face and sighed heavily. He truly was not ready to hear this story from Damon's past, but he insisted that Cassandra tell it to him. It would be a big regret. "I'm sorry."

"That's why I'm so close with my family now." She added. "And why Damon initially freaked out when we found out I was pregnant."

"I can see why," he said.

"I just wish there was more that I could do for that little girl that I never got to meet. They were like family to me."

"That's why I want you to talk to Stefan." Alaric spoke. "You may hate him now, but you guys are pretty much family.

"I know." She nodded. "I'll talk to him. Can't promise I won't throw a punch in or two."

"If you do, throw a couple in for me, alright?" Cassandra smirked and picked herself up from the elevator floor. She pushed the emergency stop button and the elevator zinged to life. It began moving upwards and dinged when they reached Jeremy's floor.

"You got it."

* * *

"Shame eating?"

Bonnie looked up from her plate of pancakes to see Damon entering the kitchen. He pulled out a chair at the table and sat beside her, but she still hadn't spoken. In fact, she hadn't spoken since Damon told the story about his past. Bonnie pushed her pancakes around on her plate, sopping up the extra syrup and she stabbed a piece to take a bite, but she placed her fork down.

"Thinking about that pregnant lady. She had a thing for pancakes." She mumbled sadly. "That's why you make pancakes every day."

"No, I make pancakes every day because I'm bored." Damon corrected her.

Bonnie shook her head. "You're doing it because you're punishing yourself."

"You know that not a day goes by where I don't think about what I've done?" He admitted truthfully. "All because I wanted to make my brother's life miserable and I end up paying the price in the end. In case you haven't noticed, Bonnie, I do stupid things."

The witch played with her pancakes, swishing her fork around on her plate as she searched for the right words to say, but could find none. Damon had always been painted as the bad guy in every story and most times he lived up to that name, but there were some instances where he surprised those around him and himself. Bonnie could see the glimmers of good that were shrouded in the shadows and she wished other people would take the time to get to know Damon rather than judge him based on his past. Sitting across from her was a man who was baring his past and who wanted nothing more than to get home to his wife and daughter.

"When I found out that Cass was pregnant and that the baby might kill her, I thought it was my past coming back to haunt me. I figured, I took someone's world away from them and it only seemed fitting for my world to be taken away from me." He could remember an overwhelming feeling of dread when Quetsiyah told him about the Universe's plan for his beloved and for the longest time he was high alert, scared to death that something was lurking in the shadows and waiting to pounce.

"But that didn't happen." Bonnie spoke up. "Both Cassandra and Ava are safe, so why do you insist on punishing yourself? You call this place your hell and that means you feel remorse."

"Because deep down, I do feel remorse and because I acted like a jerk, I killed off the last remaining Salvatores. That's why I'm stuck here and you're just lucky enough to have come for the ride." The corner of his lips twitched into a little grin, knowing that as much as he and Bonnie had their spats in the prison world, he was thankful that he wasn't alone.

"Yeah, well, I'm just the luckiest girl in the world." She chuckled and moved her pancakes aside. "Imagine being stuck here alone with Kai?"

"No, I can't imagine it because I would have killed the little weasel."

"You know, that makes you different from Kai. You feel remorse. Maybe there's hope for you." Her smile grew as did his.

"Look, we can still get outta here, Bonnie. We can steal that Descendant contraption, find out what Kai knows and we'll ditch him because he doesn't have any powers anyway."

"Actually, it's not that simple." Kai's voice made them both look up to see him standing in the doorway.

"You gotta stop doing that." Damon narrowed his eyes at him. "It's creepy."

Kai ignored Damon and stepped into the room, stopping to stand beside Bonnie which made her uncomfortable. "Here's the thing: I have a killer effect on magic. I can't generate it myself. But, I can consume it from others temporarily. My family callled me an abomination. That hurt my feelings."

He suddenly gripped onto Bonnie's wrist and she tried to pull away, but she was doubled over in excruciating pain. Damon was the next to follow, holding his head as his ears wrung loudly. Kai flicked his other wrist toward the stove and the burner caught fire.

"Okay, we get it!" The vampire growled and Kai stopped his spell. Bonnie took her wrist back, cradling it against her chest.

"You can see why my coven and I didn't get along," Kai said.

"I smell an ultimatum." Damon's nose wrinkled.

"If I consume all of Bonnie's magic I'm just gonna end up killing her, but if we work together, we can all go home as friends. Or I can devour her magic, kill you both, and go home alone. What's it gonna be?" Kai plopped into the seat next to Damon and reached across the table, pulling Bonnie's plate of pancakes towards him. He picked up the fork and stuffed a few pieces of pancake in his mouth.

As Bonnie and Damon traded glances from across the table, they came to the frightening conclusion that they needed Kai to get home and that scared them more than anything.

* * *

It was the very hard clunk of a beer bottle being smashed on Stefan's head that made him fall off his barstool and onto the floor. The glass sliced into his scalp and he let out a small howl of pain as his fingers probed the cut at the back of his head. He could feel his warm blood staining his fingertips, but he knew the wound would heal quickly. The bar had been cleared out a while ago after Stefan had gotten into a fight with some jerk off and he was happy that Elena was outside. Through a dizzy gaze, he straighten up and closed his fist firmly in preparation to knock out whatever dummy had hit him, but he stopped short once he saw who cracked his skull.

"I should kick your ass from here to Savannah." Cassandra growled hotly, her fingers wrapped tightly around the neck of the broken bottle. The rest of the glass was either on the floor or in Stefan's scalp.

"Ouch." Stefan prodded the back of his and felt his healing wound pushing out the bits of glass that were embedded there. "Hello to you too."

"Enjoying yourself out here?"

"Actually yes, until you bashed me in the back of the head."

"Are you having a blast forgetting everything and starting over?"

"We talked about this, Cassandra." He grumbled.

"I know we did." She said.

"I can't come back. It's just a reminder of what I couldn't do to save my brother."

"And you think this is easy for me?" She questioned. "Every day when I look at Ava, I'm reminded of Damon and how I will never see him again. The last four months haven't exactly been a cakewalk for me."

"Look, I told you before. I started over. I'm living my own life and I'm happy." He dusted himself off and puffed out his chest with a huff.

"Are you really?" Her voice was soft, almost fleeting like a whisper on the winds. Stefan brushed some glass aside with his foot and ran a hand through his hair, searching his heart for what he was really feeling.

"Of course I'm not happy." He stared at her with tears in his eyes. "I have to live every day with the guilt that I couldn't save my brother."

"I know you're guilty, but you don't have to be. There is a way that you can make it right." She said. "Stefan, I know that you've moved on and made your own life, but please don't punish my daughter by not being in her life."

All of the musings inside Stefan's head were suddenly muted and he could feel the weight of Cassandra's words on his shoulders. He had never thought of his sudden neglect towards everyone in Mystic Falls to have such a profound effect on a four month old. He didn't want to cause Cassandra pain and he thought he would be doing so if he stayed, but in retrospect, his sudden departure only caused more pain. He figured his presence would be a constant reminder that he could do nothing to save his brother, but in reality, he would have given her strength when she needed it the most.

"You're the only person who is related to her father and I want you there; front and center." Her confession had made him speechless. He suspected that she came here to beat him to a pulp for being a deadbeat uncle to Ava, but he was genuinely surprised at her calmness as she spoke. Her words flowed like liquid from a stream, easy and gentle.

"I want you to love her and spoil her. I want you to come to her dance recitals and be the protective uncle when she starts going on dates." That part made Stefan smirk to himself. He hadn't thought that far into the future yet, but he knew that it wouldn't be long before Ava would be growing up and becoming a young woman.

"Cassandra..."

"Stefan, please." She begged, her chocolate eyes shining with fresh tears. She didn't know how else to say it to him; she needed his help. She couldn't do this on her own. Lines of doubt and worry crept upon his face and he shook his head while shifting on his feet.

"I'm sorry, Cassandra."

Those three words were like a knife to her chest. After coming here and pleading with him, he had turned his back on her yet again. The last bits of hope she'd held onto wilted and Cassandra found herself on the verge of being sick. Her heart ached and throbbed and she wanted nothing more than to rip it from her body and discard it so no one could cause her pain again. She bit her bottom lip so hard she felt the skin break, but it had healed too quickly for Stefan to see blood. She peered down at her feet once more before meeting Stefan's gaze, there were tears in both of their eyes.

"I am too." Any human would have missed her reply, but to Stefan, it was as if she had screamed it. She took a deep breath, walked towards Stefan, and out of the bar. If he wanted out of Ava's life, then he would be out of Cassandra's too. Elena stood by Stefan's motorcycle, her mouth slightly agape at the conversation she had just heard. She reached for Cassandra's shoulder to gently grasp it, but the hybrid continued to walk past her and to her car. With a heavy heart, Cassandra gave one last look at the bar before climbing in her Jeep and starting the engine.

Dirt was kicked up from the road as she drove away and it had cleared just as Stefan exited the bar. He watched Cassandra's car drive further down the road and it became clear to him that he had made the biggest mistake of his life. He kicked the ground hard, making a nice dent in the earth, cursing at himself for being such an idiot. Elena pursed her lips and yanked Stefan's extra motorcycle helmet off the back. She'd worn it out the bar and he said he would drive her back to Whitmore, but she wanted nothing more than to be alone after what he'd done. She threw the helmet into the dirt and it broke with a satisfying crack. She then stomped down the road, half expecting Stefan to try and stop her, but even he knew that his mistakes were far from fixing.

* * *

 **Uh oh. Looks like Stefan has really dug himself into a hole :( On the bright side, Damon and Bonnie are getting closer and closer to getting home. Please review and check out my Originals story, My Soul to Keep.**

* * *

 **VampirePrincess11:** Thanks for reviewing! Hopefully we can get Damon and Bonnie home soon!

 **PJOCAMPERS:** Yay! I am SO thrilled that this story is a favorite of yours. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed this latest update :)

 **bfireworks5:** Woo hoo for Damon having hope! I can't wait to bring him and Bonnie home to their friends and families. Thanks for reviewing :)

 **CarlyLynn:** Thank you so much for reviewing! I'm happy you liked the previous chapter and I hope you enjoyed the latest update.

 **Cushy96:** Hello Cushy! Thank you very much for your review :) I am so honored that this is your favorite Damon Salvatore story! I can't wait for my readers to see him interact with his daughter throughout this story. Enjoy the newest chapter!

 **NicoleR85:** I had a great New Year, Nicole! I hope you did too. Thank you for reviewing and please enjoy the latest chapter.

 **grapejuice101:** Cass and Ava moments are definitely coming in the future :) Thanks for reviewing!

 **SomebodyWhoCares:** LOL! I can kinda see that happening too ;) Thanks for reviewing!

 **Shining Ruby:** That reunion is definitely coming soon. Thank you for your review :)

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 **Nora:** Here is your update :)

 **River:** Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	5. The World Has Turned and Left Me Here

**The Long Way Home**

 **Chapter 5: The World Has Turned and Left Me Here**

 **Beta:** **PrincessOfSilence**

 **Disclaimer:** **I own nothing of The Vampire Diaries. I only own my characters and my story.**

* * *

"But I don't wanna..." Cassandra bellyached from her very comfy cocoon.

"Come on. It'll be good for you to get some fresh air." Vanessa tsked as she rifled through the hangers in her friend's closet. Elena had called earlier and invited Cassandra to the Whitmore Homecoming, but she wasn't going to accept the invite, so Vanessa did it for her. Elena felt so guilty about how Stefan acted that she wanted to make it up to Cassandra and at least apologize. However, Cassandra wanted nothing to do with anyone.

"This one is cute." Vanessa oohed and pulled out a red, white, and blue flannel shirt from the closet. "Wear it with a pair of jeans and you're so ready for a corn maze."

Ava squealed happily from her bouncing seat and shook her rattle. Vanessa peppered the baby's cheeks with kisses, making Ava laugh and smile even more. The blonde vampire held up the shirt for a giggly Ava who clapped her hands. Of course this baby would have good taste, Vanessa smiled to herself. Just like her aunt.

"See? Even Ava wants you to go out and have fun. But she thinks you should wear boots with the jeans." Vanessa joked, but hearing a groan from the bed made her roll her eyes.

"I'm not going."

"Stop being so dramatic. You haven't left this house in days."

The blanket cocoon jostled just slightly and a head popped out. "Well, sorry if I'm a little down because my brother-in-law is a complete ass and won't be in my daughter's life."

The blonde vampire frowned, stopping her search and turning to face her friend. "Look, Stefan is an idiot, we all know that, but this is a chance for you to live a little bit. Plus, Elena said she wanted to talk to you. It can't be that bad of an evening."

"If you really think that drunk and sloppy college kids is an idea of a good time, then all means go in my place." Cassandra turned herself over and stuck her head back beneath the covers.

"Oh no." The blonde shook her head and tossed the flannel shirt along with a pair of jeans onto the bed. "I went to the last party and was nearly shish-kebabed by a vampire hating trainee."

"Sure," Cassandra sat up in bed, the covers still wrapped around her. "Guilt me that I sent you to a party for a night of normalcy."

"Good and now I'm sending you to a party for a night of normalcy." She countered.

Cassandra climbed out of the bed and picked up the shirt as if to contemplate going to the party. "I shouldn't...Ava is teething and she hasn't been sleeping well."

"I can handle a teething baby." Vanessa scooped Ava into her arms and rocked her back and forth. "Besides, she needs a girl's night and you need a night to have fun."

Cassandra brushed her hand against her daughter's arm and smiled. Ava nuzzled into her aunt and Cassandra leaned in to give her a kiss. Cassandra wouldn't leave Ava with just anyone and she knew that Vanessa would take good care of her. Perhaps she really did need a night away from her motherly duties. A night out could hold for a lot of promise.

"Okay, fine. I'll go," she sighed.

"Yay! Now, let's get you dressed." Vanessa grinned from ear to ear and put Ava back down in her chair. She danced into the adjoining bathroom and Cassandra picked up the shirt off the bed.

"I'm telling you tonight will be the worst night ever!" She shouted into the bathroom just as Vanessa came out with a make-up case.

"Oh hush and take a seat." She brought a stool over towards the vanity and Cassandra plopped herself down. "You're gonna have fun, I promise."

"I'll have to take your word for it." She sang.

* * *

With another heave, Damon tossed a pile of dirt aside and stabbed the earth with his ax. The soil gave way easily and he continued to dig himself lower and lower into the hole. Today he was filled with a sense of excitement that made his soul grow new wings. Today would be the day him and Bonnie would go home. After four long months, the time was right for them to return to Mystic Falls. He would see his wife and his daughter and his brother too. Nothing would get in his way of coming home.

"Hey." She called and he stopped his digging to peer up at her. "You know there's a very probable chance you're digging your own grave, and...not bothered?"

Damon sent her a shrug, nothing would damper his good mood and he attacked the ground with the sharp point again. Just by his feet, the ground fell away and dropped into an opening.

"Ah ha!" He grinned and closed one eye to focus in on the hole. It seemed like some sort of cavern was below them and the opening was the perfect place for the shape of the eclipse to fit.

"Looks like I got back just in time." Kai announced and set down a backpack at his feet. Not wanting to trust Kai, Damon zoomed forward, snatched up the backpack and rifled through it.

"Zima, grunge, every Alex Rodriguez rookie card known to man, and a pager." He returned everything into the backpack and gave Kai and incredulous look. "Really?"

" _555-Hiya-Kai_ , no way I'm giving those digits up," he said.

"These are the important supplies you needed to get?" Damon dropped the backpack to the ground.

"Look, the future sounds great, alright? I'm super excited about the Internet, but 1994 has been my home for most of my life. I'd hate to get homesick." Kai shrugged. "So let's get down there-"

"No." She stood in front of Kai's path, earning a snarky smirk from him. "We are not going anywhere until you show me the spell."

Kai wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Okay."

"Are we literally not going anywhere?" Damon asked tensely.

"Fine, you don't want to show me the spell? Then you can do it yourself." Bonnie said and Kai looked suspiciously at her.

"You want my magic?" She held out her arm. "Take it."

"Uh-oh, she's being brave." Kai chuckled to Damon who just looked uneasy with Bonnie's newfound confidence.

"I'm serious Kai! This was your big threat, wasn't it? If I do the spell and let us out of here, you'll just take my magic, leave me for dead, and do the spell yourself. So go ahead. Take all of it." She stretched her palm towards him, her gaze never leaving his.

"Don't mind if I do." Kai smirked and took Bonnie by her shoulders. She yelped in pain, but stood her ground.

Damon stepped forward, ready to snap Kai's neck. "Bonnie?"

"It's okay, he won't kill me." Bonnie gritted through her teeth.

"Doesn't look like that from here," he said.

"Ow!" She grunted.

"Hey! Bonnie!" Damon's plea fell on deaf ears, neither Bonnie nor Kai would give up. "Whoa! Hey guys! Stop!"

Kai released Bonnie and she wobbled uneasily on her feet. She met Kai's mischievous gaze when a sudden realization came over her. All this time, Kai had fooled them. Since the beginning, he made them believe they needed him, but it was all a lie. It was actually the other way around; Kai needed Bonnie to get out of his prison world. Unfortunately for him, Kai had used all of his chances.

"He doesn't know the spell. Which means, we don't need him." Her voice was dark and she raised her hand. "Motus!"

The ax Damon had leaned against the tree was thrust through the air and the blade buried itself into Kai's chest. Blood soaked through his shirt and his eyes grew wide before he fell backwards. They didn't need Kai to get them home. They now knew that they could do it themselves. Damon tapped Bonnie on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Great work, Bonnie."

* * *

Cassandra shuffled her feet awkwardly and she nursed her red Solo cup as a couple of college kids came barreling down the maze. It seemed like everyone was having fun except for her. The kids were excitedly talking about the Homecoming traditions and their plans after the game. Cassandra could hear their voices until they had gone too far into the maze and she was alone again with her thoughts. In the distance, she could vaguely hear music being piped through a speaker and she recognized it only because Vanessa would sing it around the house sometimes. Checking her watch, she made even more of a face seeing that time had only ticked on for about ten minutes since she arrived at the corn maze.

She sighed and took a sip from her cup, but she grimaced at the taste; she hated beer. She'd always been a bourbon or scotch drinker and could never see why people liked beer so much. Damon had gotten her to drink bourbon one time in a bar and after swearing she would throw up from the taste, she grew to like it more and more. It was something that always reminded her of Damon no matter how far they'd grown apart. She wished now that they had offered bourbon at Homecoming. Making sure no one was around, she daintily tipped her cup over, letting the leftover beer spill onto the ground. It pooled in the dirt, sweeping up some pieces of hay and corn kernels.

"I saw that." Elena's teasing voice drew closer from around the corner of the maze. She too was holding a cup, but it was nearly filled to the brim. "You came."

"Yeah...I said I'd come, right?" Cassandra moved herself away from the beer puddle she made.

"Well, I'm glad you did." She smiled, toasting her cup and taking a sip.

"How's uh, how's Jeremy?" The hybrid asked, trying to make conversation.

Elena rolled her eyes. "He's...okay. Still upset about that Sarah girl, though."

"Oh..." Cassandra trailed off and peered down into her empty cup. She hated small talk like this and would rather get straight to the point. She bit her lip, but the question flew out before she could stop it.

"Why did you really invite me here, Elena?"

The vampire frowned at Cassandra's sharpened tone, worried that she would take her invitation the wrong way. "I wanted to apologize."

"Look, I don't need anyone's pity," she said.

"No, this isn't a pity thing, Cassandra," Elena promised. "I just...I saw the way Stefan treated you that day at the bar. You didn't deserve that and neither did Ava."

"Oh, you don't need to apologize for Stefan. He can do that on his own when he finally decides what an idiot he is." The hybrid grumbled.

"And...I want to apologize for how I've been acting." Her brown eyes found her feet. "The way I see it, I'm just as bad as Stefan and I don't want to be."

Cassandra chewed on the inside of her cheek and she gave a heavy sigh. She didn't want to fight with Elena or Stefan or Alaric. Truthfully, she didn't want to fight with anyone. She blissfully remembered a time when everyone fought for one another and not against them. Perhaps in everyone's grief, they'd all turned on each other. Cassandra didn't want things to be like that for herself or for Ava. It just meant that someone had to take a step in the right direction and Elena was the only one who had done so.

"Well, I haven't been on my best behavior either," she admitted. "I wanted Ava to have a life where she would be surrounded by people that love her, but some of those people walked away."

"I know and I'm sorry that I did," Elena said. "I know that Ric compelled my memories away."

"You do?" She raised her eyebrows at her.

"I wrote a note explaining everything before Ric did it. While I was cleaning out my dorm room I found it and it really made me ask myself, 'what the hell was I thinking?'"

"Ha. You have no idea how many times I've asked myself that question over the past few months." Cassandra chuckled. "Losing Damon didn't help either. I think it just made me so angry that he was gone and I took it out on the people I love, but it's just not right."

"I think we all let our emotions get the best of us." Elena added. "And I'm really sorry for that."

"I'm sorry too." Cassandra enveloped Elena in a hug and the two embraced, finally burying the hatchet. It felt good to leave the past in the past, much better than holding onto a grudge for the rest of eternity.

"Hey! There you are! I-" the girl separated as a young man approached them and Elena smiled at him. "I'm sorry...I was looking for you."

"It's okay. Come here." Elena waved him over. He was boyishly handsome with dark hair and blue eyes and by the Elena was looking at him, she was so over Stefan. "Cassandra, this is Liam. We're in the same program at Whitmore."

"Nice to meet you, Liam." Cassandra shook his hand firmly.

"You too. Enjoying the party?" He asked.

"Yeah, but I'm thinking I might head home soon."

"What?"

"Stay a little bit longer please?" Elena smiled. "Ava will be fine for another hour."

"Oh, do you have a little sister?" Liam asked and it made Cassandra giggle.

"No, she's my daughter."

His blue eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "Whoa, I am so...you don't look...I mean..."

"It's okay, Liam." The hybrid waved off his awkwardness. "I get that a lot."

Liam blushed a little and stole a glance at Elena who was chuckling under her breath. "Well, let's get back to the party, right?"

"Sure, I've got some time to be a normal gal before I have to head home."

"Hey, have you seen Ric?" Elena asked.

"No, but..." Her voice trailed off just as the screech of tires could be heard in the near distance. Elena picked up on it too and her worried expression met Cassandra's. As if on cue, hordes of kids ran past them, screaming in horror and Cassandra took Elena's hand to lead her away from whatever danger was coming for them. Liam was quick to follow and they were all swept up in the chaos of everyone trying to leave at once.

People were pushing and shoving one another, some even fell to the ground and scrambled to get out of the way. The high beams of a truck wrenched Cassandra's heart into her chest and before anyone could stop it, the car was headed their way. Elena was bumped into by another student and Liam helped her to get her bearings, but she'd lost sight of Cassandra. She called out her name, but her shouts became lost in swell of frantic voices. More screams could be heard and she shielded herself from the truck's blinding lights just in time to see a body jump out in front of the truck. Tires screeched and the vehicle flipped, barreling down anyone who stood in its path.

* * *

It hadn't taken the pair long to make their way into the cavern below their feet. It was shrouded in shadows, save for the hole Damon had dug which cast a beam of light that bounced off the walls. That light, however, was growing dimmer as the eclipse prepared to become aligned while Bonnie worked with the Ascendant. Damon perched himself on a rock, a Zima in his hand and he watched Bonnie intently, a fluttering feeling deep inside him. A million questions faced through his mind, one unanswered after another. Would things be the same after they came home? How would everyone react? Had their loved ones moved on? He pushed his thoughts to the back of his brain, stifling them as Bonnie stood under the light. She used the sharp edge of the Ascendant to slice open her wrist and dribbled her blood onto the metal. She closed her eyes and began to chant, persuading the Ascendant to click open.

"It's time, Damon." She spoke and Damon put down the bottle of Zima he'd snatched from Kai's backpack. The eclipse was at the perfect position and it was time for them to go home. The Ascendant in Bonnie's hand clicked a few times and then opened fully.

"Alright." Damon nodded and walked to meet her under the direct light of the eclipse. "Let's get awkward."

They both smiled widely, excitement beaming from within them. They could hardly contain themselves that they were so close to seeing the ones they loved. Bonnie held out her hand and Damon linked his fingers through hers. It seemed only fitting to return home in the same way they were banished to the prison world.

"Like this?" He asked.

Bonnie nodded. "Yep."

"I'm sure there are about a billion people you'd rather be here with..." He smirked at her and she matched it before shaking her head.

"Not exactly." Being with Damon for four months hadn't been easy, but she wouldn't want to be with anyone else during their time away.

"Let's go—Ah!" The whizzing of an arrow shot through her torso and she collapsed to the ground. The Ascendant fell with her, rolling away until spiraling in a spot on the floor. Damon whirled around to see Kai standing behind them with a crossbow in his hands, looking alive and well.

"Forgetting someone?" He smirked widely and Damon stared incredulously at him. Bonnie killed him, he saw it happen with his own two eyes, but now he was back with a vengeance and Damon knew that this could not end well.

* * *

"Oh my god!"

"We need help!"

"Someone call an ambulance!"

Waking up to reality was painful and fuzzy for Cassandra, but she figured it would be especially since she'd been hit by a pick-up truck going at almost 100 miles per hour. Her gaze was fixed amongst the stars and she could feel the stalks of corn digging into her skin. Screams were all around her and they seemed to be coming from every direction. The scent of freshly spilled blood wafted into her nostrils and warmth soaked through her clothes. Her eyes remained locked on the night sky, shock taking over her muscles and she wished with all of her might that this was some horrible nightmare she'd shake herself awake from. But the screams did not quiet and the smell of blood only grew stronger. Her vision had begun to fade in and out and she was on the verge of losing consciousness when a voice called to her.

"Cassandra! Cassandra, can you hear me?" Elena smacked her cheeks and she began to rouse.

"Ouch! That hurts, you know." She batted Elena's hands away and rubbed her throbbing head. She then removed her hands and assessed Cassandra's current health. It seemed like she was bleeding from every place on her body and it was hard to see exactly where to start. The largest of her injuries was a tear in her right leg and an open wound near her ribs. Elena assumed she used that part of her to stop the car and she pressed a hand to her leg. Cassandra howled in pain and Elena immediately backed away.

"Oh, that is definitely broken," Cassandra hissed. "Damn!"

"Can you stand?" Elena asked.

"No, considering a truck just ran over me."

Elena ran her hands through her hair at the chaos surrounding her. "This is a nightmare."

"I know." Cassandra struggled to sit herself up. "This was a new shirt."

"I have to get help." She whipped out her cell phone to call campus security and an ambulance.

"Listen to me, I'll heal. There are people that need more help than I do. I'll be okay. Just go." The hybrid urged and Elena nodded before tending to the others. Cassandra sat herself upright and groaned in pain at her healing wounds. She was able to get herself onto her hands and knees and she watched the chaos in the field unfold around her. Still bodies lay nestled in the fallen stalks of corn while others moaned loudly, almost howling up to the moon. She knew she had to help whomever she could even though she could see that some students already had one foot in the grave.

Some of these kids were still so young, only freshman and new to the whole college scene. Being a mother to a future college student, Cassandra's heart wrenched just thinking of something like this happening to Ava. Would someone be brave enough to take care of her? Would she be left to die? These students had parents and they would have to be notified of the accident that happened tonight. Cassandra felt nauseous at the very thought of being told that her daughter was hurt or worse in some freak accident. She didn't want anyone to die and she wanted these kids to go home to their parents safe and sound. She shook the burning tears from her eyes and promised she'd help in whatever way she could.

Cassandra crawled to the closest survivor, a young girl no older that eighteen. She knelt beside her and checked her pulse. Very low, but still beating. Her chest rose and fell but her breaths were very shallow. Her eyes remained closed, but she was very much alive. There was no time to diagnose what happened to her, so Cassandra did the first sensible thing that came to mind. With a quick glance around the cornfield, she bit into her wrist and angled it to the girl's mouth while she used her other hand to massage her throat. The girl slowly took to the liquid in her mouth, but she swallowed it without a fight. Cassandra pulled her wrist away and staggered to the next body and the next after that, repeating the same process until she could hear the sounds of organs and skin being sewn back together.

At least she was able to take care of some of these kids. She'd hoped they were in such a state of shock that they wouldn't remember blood being fed to them and continued her efforts to save whoever she could before the paramedics arrived. Her section she had taken was clear; all of the kids were healed, but there was still so much more ground to cover. She compelled the kids to find others and help or to call for help, but the sounds of sirens in the distance meant that help was on the way. She rushed through the maze, feeding her blood to anyone she came across until she came to a small opening where she saw Ric and Elena's teacher tending to a young woman on the ground.

"Hey, you guys alright?" Cassandra approached the pair and Jo immediately panicked seeing the blood all over her.

"Oh my god! How are you standing upright?!" Jo asked in shock. "All that blood..."

"The truck missed me. I was helping some of the kids who were hit." The hybrid stepped away from Jo's prying hands, wanting to keep her supernatural nature a secret.

Jo looked at her questioningly, but was quickly brought back to the girl on the ground when she gave a loud groan. "She's loosing too much blood."

"Will she be okay?" Ric asked.

"Put your hands here." Jo ignored Ric's question and grabbed his hands, placing them on the girl's stomach. Cassandra bit her bottom lip, already seeing the turmoil on Ric's face because he was so close to fresh blood.

"What can I do?" Cassandra knelt beside the girl while Jo dialed up an ambulance on her phone.

"Just stay with her. Keep her calm," she replied and the receiver picked up. "Hello? Yes, we need an ambulance right away."

Ric turned pale and he was happy Jo and turned herself away from him so she wouldn't see it. The warm, wet blood on his hands was making his mouth water. He could feel it oozing from the wound and he pushed his vampire nature further down inside him in hopes to keep it dormant. He suddenly felt veins creeping underneath his eyes and he shook them away, but they came back even more prominent. He looked to Jo who was still on the phone and thankfully more involved with her conversation than she was with him. His hands trembled, making more blood pool from the wound and his fangs poked his bottom lip.

"Ric!" A sharp sting hit his cheek and the skin grew warm before quickly cooling down. He then realized Cassandra had smacked him hard. "Pull yourself together."

"I can't...can't do this," he stammered.

"Then move!" She hissed and jumped in where Ric's hands had been. He wiped his palms on his jeans and moved away from the girl, immediately feeling himself become normal again just as Jo hung up.

"They're gonna be a little while." She spoke to them and saw that Ric and Cassandra had changed positions. "How are we doing here?"

"Ric's a little squeamish." Cassandra answered for Ric who was still trying to collect himself. "She's loosing too much blood."

"Keep your hands there. Make sure you're pressing hard." Jo instructed while looking for something nearby she could use to stop the bleeding.

"You're gonna be okay, sweetheart." The hybrid told the girl who was struggling to speak.

"My...my mom didn't kn-know I was h-here," she cried weakly.

Cassandra frowned and continued to hold her hands to the girl's torso firmly. "What's your name?"

"Ka-Katelyn."

"Hi Katelyn. I'm Cassandra. You're going to be fine. You've just got to hold on for a little longer." She spoke softly, as if trying to calm her nerves and Katelyn's.

"P-Please tell my mom...I'm s-sorry." Katelyn sniffled and Cassandra shook her head.

"You can tell your mom that yourself because you're gonna pull through this," she said.

"She's gonna...kill me. I-I was s-supposed to be studying."

The hybrid could feel a drop in the girl's heartbeat and she knew she didn't have much time left. "You know, I have a daughter at home and she's only four months old, but I worry about her a lot. Like I'm sure how your mom worries about you. And as angry as I would be at my daughter for partying when she should be studying, I know I would be overjoyed that she was safe if something ever happened to her."

As much as she hated to think about it, Ava would grow up and have to experience life on her own and Cassandra couldn't always be there to protect her. It made Cassandra uneasy to fathom the idea of her little girl learning about the supernatural world someday and felt her stomach churn at the dangers she would have to face in life. These thoughts had floated idly around in her head for quite some time, but tonight they screeched forward, crashing into her naivety that Ava could be protected from the monsters of the world.

"Hopefully your daughter...will actually l-listen to you." Katelyn smiled even through her pain.

Cassandra split open her wrist and gently pressed it to Katelyn's mouth and she was so weak that she just the blood slide down her throat. "Think of this as a second chance."

A rustling in the cornstalks meant Jo was coming back. Cassandra let Katelyn have her fill before pulling her wrist away and compelling the teenager to forget that had happened. Jo pushed her way through the stalks and she was followed by an ambulance crew with a stretcher.

"She's over here." She told them and the men immediately went to work. Cassandra and Ric backed away, allowing the men to hoist Katelyn up on the stretcher and wheel her away.

"Thank you." Jo's blue eyes passed between the two of them. "I don't know if she'll make it."

"Have a little faith." Cassandra gave a small smile as she watched the ambulance pull away from the cornfield. More EMTs swooped in, taking up fallen students left and right. Elena and Liam were among those who helped get some of the others to doctors and nurses and Cassandra was relieved to see that the both of them were okay. As she watched the bloodied and bruised hobble towards help, she hoped and prayed that her efforts were enough.

* * *

"Did you _really_ think I hadn't tried to kill myself before?" Kai asked them and Damon stole a concerned look at Bonnie who was holding in her urge to scream.

"Because I had..." He reloaded his crossbow with another arrow and aimed it directly at Bonnie. "Lots of times, lots of ways."

Damon's gaze trailed to the Ascendant. If he could move fast enough, he could grab it and-

"Grab that and the next arrow goes in her heart. Your choice," Kai warned. Making the better choice, Damon sped to Bonnie and held her in his arms.

"Okay, I got ya," he assured her and quickly yanked out the arrow before biting his wrist and putting it to her lips. Kai then saw his chance and rushed forward, hand outstretched for the Ascendant.

"Damon, no!" Bonnie shouted, but the vampire had already met Kai halfway and shoved him hard against the cave wall. They struggled with one another and Kai dropped the Ascendant in the scuffle, making Bonnie's eyes gleam with hope. She crawled weakly to the piece, slowly inching her way to it just as Kai stabbed Damon with an arrow in his chest. Bonnie pushed herself harder even though her side was screaming and she reached the Ascendant with a joyous sigh. She sat up and through her hot tears, she could see the eclipse was at the perfect alignment. It was time.

Kai managed to get Damon on his back and he pushed the arrow further into his chest cavity. Damon hissed and tried to push Kai off, but he was strong for a witch. Kai twisted the arrow, a maniacal grin on his lips and Damon shouted loudly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bonnie holding onto the Ascendant and the shadows of the eclipse penetrating the caves. She was in a puddle of her own blood and she was fading fast.

"Bonnie...get out...of here." He told her.

"I'm...not going to make it." She cried, but then suddenly smiled a smile only Bonnie could muster.

"But you are."

Damon sent her an odd look, not understanding what she was getting at.

Bonnie held out her empty hand and uttered the same chant she used to kill Kai earlier. The witch flew off Damon, smashing into the ground along with the arrow that had been removed from Damon. She then levitated Damon until he was in the circle of the eclipse, his entire body becoming immersed in light. Bonnie used the last bit of her strength to toss the Ascendant to him and he caught it nimbly in his hand.

"Don't!" Kai shouted in protest.

"Give Ava a kiss from her Aunt Bonnie." She smiled warmly and a single tear rolled down her cheeks. The Ascendant untwisted its gears and clicked into place in his hand.

"Bonnie, no!" Damon shook his head. He couldn't leave without Bonnie. Everyone would be counting on him to bring her back home, but Bonnie had made up her own mind. The Ascendant twisted once more, a loud click resonated in the caves. Damon was brought up into the light and in a flash, he was gone.

The only thing that remained was the Ascendant which shattered as it hit the ground, the pieces spilling everywhere. Kai screamed furiously, but Bonnie smiled, knowing Damon had made it. Another tear left her eye and she finally crumpled to the ground, succumbing to her wound.

* * *

"Hey! How was the..." Vanessa's green eyes nearly bugged out of her head seeing Cassandra's condition as she walked up the front porch. She was covered in blood from head to toe and she held her boots in her hands. Vanessa gawked like a fish out of water, unable to find something of importance to say.

Cassandra reached the porch and tossed the muddy boots in the garbage pail. "I told you tonight was going to be the worst night ever."

"Jesus! There's blood everywhere!" The blonde vampire hushed. "What happened?"

"There was a car crash," she replied.

"Oh God...is everyone-"

"I don't really want to talk about it." The hybrid shook her head and Vanessa swallowed her questions.

"Okay. As long as you're okay. That's all that matters." She threw her arms around her friend who returned her hug tiredly. "Ava is already bathed and in bed. She was a perfect little angel while you were out."

Cassandra smiled, her perfect little angel. "Great. I'm gonna shower and head to bed."

"Right behind you."

The hybrid tossed and turned in her empty bed, thrusting the covers off her restless body. She quickly showered, happy to get the matted blood off her, and kissed Ava goodnight before falling into bed, but sleep did not come easy for her. She felt as if she'd been tossing and turning for hours on end with no sign of sleep in sight. She was thankful that Vanessa and Ava were sleeping soundly in their rooms, but she was quite envious of the dreams that danced in their heads. She just couldn't relax. Was it the car accident replaying in her mind? Was it the sight of all of those students splayed on the ground? Cassandra didn't even know what was keeping her awake at an ungodly hour.

With a soft huff, she pushed herself out of bed, tiptoeing out of her room and downstairs into the kitchen. She opened and shut the fridge silently, but not before fishing out the container of milk and filling her glass halfway. She took a couple of sips, hoping that would calm her down, but her insides were still jumpy. She pulled her satin robe around her and shuffled on her feet, the cool tile making her wish she was back in her warm bed again. She downed the rest of her glass and went to place it in the sink when she caught a dash of movement outside the kitchen window that rested above the sink. Her brown eyes flicked back and forth intently while her ears listened in for any noises from the outside.

 _Calm yourself,_ she thought, it could be an animal. Little critters always find their way into her garden and liked to chew up her flowers. Perhaps a rabbit was nibbling on a midnight snack. Letting her paranoia get the best of her, she nimbly gripped a stake from the utensil drawer. She'd kept a bunch hidden around the house, for safety reasons, and it seemed like tonight she was finally going to be able to use one. She very slowly pushed open the back door and padded quietly down the wooden stairs, save for a creak or two. Stake clutched firmly in hand, she took each careful step and awaited for her foe to blink first.

It could have easily been a bird or a squirrel that was strumming on her nerves, but something just didn't feel right. Even when she was in the kitchen she felt as if she was being watched. The hairs on the back of her neck stood in end as a calm breeze tugged lightly at her nightgown. She took her steps carefully, watching for any slight movement in the night. Another realization crossed Cassandra's mind as she weaved through the sunflower stalks, that the town's new vampire hunters could have targeted them. When Enzo killed that boy at the swimming hole, it could have gotten back to his team and somehow led them here.

 _Snap!_

Cassandra's mile a minute thoughts were halted when her tense nerves finally snapped. She heard a stick crack loudly and she launched the stake at her opponent who caught it, but did not move. Instead, they stood stone still and eyed the weapon curiously as if not expecting this kind of action from her. Cassandra didn't move either, her entire being went rigid like a statue. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish that had washed upon the shore and was gasping for air to enter its lungs. She was at a loss of words for whom was standing not even ten feet from her. It was not an enemy or an animal, no none of those. Eyes wide, body frozen, heart hammering, she came face to face with the man she never thought she'd see again as long as she lived.

"Damon..."

It left her lips like a prayer being sent up above, a prayer for her to be really awake and not just dreaming. She could still feel the loose soil beneath her feet and the wind in her hair, so she couldn't have been dreaming. But how? How was it possible that Damon was here? Her eyes were trained in his form and to her disbelief, she saw his chest rise and fall with each gentle breath.

"This isn't real." She hushed, shaking her head back and forth.

It's a dream, she thought to herself. It had to be. Damon died. He'd been dead for four impossibly long months. She felt his last kiss as he bid her goodbye forever. She cried endless amount of tears for him in her grief. She gathered the pieces of her broken heart from the ground and started all over again. She mended the holes he made when he was taken away from her. Everything she'd done over the last four months was to move on and she had done that for Ava and for herself, but all of that had come to a screeching halt.

Damon twirled the stake in his hand, a sly grin on his lips and he tossed it aside like his wife hadn't tried to shank him upon his return. "You know, I was kinda hoping to get a warmer welcome."

Oh God, even his voice and mannerisms were exactly the same. It was as if he spent those four months frozen in time. Cassandra finally let out a breath she'd been holding in since she laid eyes on him and she raked a hand through her mused hair. She wasn't dreaming anymore, no. Now she was wide awake. Her emotions were too strong to still be wandering in a dream. Damon took a few steps toward her, his gaze in complete wonderment in seeing his wife again. He softly smiled at her, a real smile; something he hadn't done in a long time.

"My God...I almost forgot how beautiful you are," he cooed.

"You're here. You're really here?" The initial shock was thawing away and she reached out to him. In so many dreams she had of him, she would extend her hand to touch him, but he would disappear as soon as they touched. Her hand brushed against his chest and she blinked away tears that he was still standing there. Her palm rested on his beating heart and her breath caught in her throat.

She threw her arms around him and squeezed so tightly that Damon thought he'd burst. He enveloped her in his arms, holding her so closely that every curve molded into one another. They cried into each other's shoulders, whispering words of affirmation that this moment was real and nothing could change that. Her warmth ebbed through him from the top of his head to his toes and it was the most wonderful feeling in the entire world. In hindsight, he wished he could have planned this better. He would have brought her flowers or a nice piece of jewelry perhaps and he certainly would have met her in a more romantic spot, but he just wanted to get home to her. He just couldn't wait, nor did he want to hold off any longer.

He pulled away from their embrace and he could feel Cassandra resisting him as she dug her nails into his shirt. It wasn't until he managed to look into her reddened, watery eyes did she relax in his hold. Her fists unclenched and her tensed shoulders dropped. Her shaking hands moved to gently cup his face and Damon's hands held hers. To feel her skin against his after what seemed like forever brought a smile to his lips. He rubbed his thumbs along the backs of her hands and stared deeply into her eyes.

"I'm home, baby," he whispered softly to her and she could feel his breath against her cheeks. "And I promise, I am never leaving you ever again."

Cassandra let a few more tears escape her watery eyes and Damon brushed them away. "I love you Damon."

She pressed her lips to his and it was in that moment Damon finally felt home.

* * *

 **DAMON. IS. BACK. HELL. YEAH! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and been so patient with my sporadic updates. If you haven't done so already, please check out** **My Soul to Keep** **which has been updated :)**

 **grapejuice101:** Thanks for reviewing! Yeah, Stefan is being a bitch of a douche. I agree that Stefan should beg for her forgiveness. Hmm, I would like to have Cassandra take a trip down to New Orleans with Damon and the baby, but I would have to see how it fits into the season. Hope you enjoyed this new chapter :)

 **VampirePrincess11:** Thank you so much for reviewing! Stefan is really digging himself in a deep hole, but let's see if he can pull himself out. I love writing the relationship with Damon and Bonnie, but Kai is suuuper crazy LOL!

 **Guest:** Thanks for reviewing! I don't update as often as I do because I am working full-time and I also go to school part-time and I work another job. I will try to update as much as I can.

 **Shining Ruby:** Thank you, Shining Ruby! I am so glad that you're enjoying this story and I hope you liked the newest chapter :)

 **Cushy96:** Hello Cushy! Thank you for reviewing! I do enjoy the episodes with flashbacks and I LOVE writing them for you guys :) There was more Ava in this chapter, but not as much as I wanted. The next chapter will have some Damon and Ava which will make you guys melt, LOL!

 **NicoleR85:** Thank you so much for reviewing! We will have to see how Cassandra deals with Stefan in the chapters to come, but she certainly isn't taking any of his bullsh*t, HAHA! Hope you enjoyed this new chapter!

 **twin of a sister:** Hey gorgeous! Always lovely seeing a review from you :) I'm pretty sure you were gonna cry at the end scene with Damon and Cassandra. So good to have him home with his family. Thank you as always for being an amazing reviewer and an even better friend. Talk to you soon!

 **SomebodyWhoCares** **:** Thank you for reviewing! Well, you got your wish! Meh…kinda. Damon is home, but we have to wait a bit before Bonnie joins him.

 **bfireworks5:** Thanks for reviewing! Damon will definitely feel some feelings of guilt for what he has done in the past. Cassandra is 1000% done with Stefan, LOL!

 **CarlyLynn:** Thank you for reviewing CarlyLynn! Damon, Cassandra, and Ava will have a reunion next chapter and it will be adorable ;)

 **SPARKELS77:** Thanks for reviewing! Hope you enjoyed the newest chapter :)

 **BrittStar1199:** Here, here, here :) Thank you for reviewing!

 **Queen24824:** Here is your update!


	6. The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get

**The Long Way Home**

 **Chapter 6: The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get**

 **Beta:** **PrincessOfSilence**

 **Disclaimer:** **I own nothing of The Vampire Diaries. I only own my characters and my story.**

* * *

"So, run this by me _one more time_." Vanessa mumbled as she pressed her index fingers into her throbbing temples. The digital clock on the stove ticked another minute longer, taking the trio that sat at the kitchen table into an ungodly hour. Cassandra remained upright in her chair, her gaze dead set on Damon who sat across from her. Vanessa had heard the commotion from outside, snuck downstairs and was in shock to see Damon standing in the garden. She quickly and quietly ushered the pair inside, looking to Damon for answers on his sudden and pleasantly surprising return.

Cassandra remained silent, hardly saying a word, only nodding or shaking her head to reply. Damon watched her carefully, gazing into her wide eyes, waiting for her to blink or even utter a sound. He wanted to hold her, thaw her frozen form and promise her that this was not a dream, however he still felt like he was in one himself. There he was, sitting in an unfamiliar home with two very familiar faces whom he felt he hadn't seen in years.

"You and Bonnie were stuck in Mystic Falls, but in 1994?" The blonde repeated and Damon nodded. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Tell me about it. You try living the same day over and over and over again. The whole thing was just very depressing."

"And you got back because Bonnie—"

"Oh God." Cassandra snapped from her shock induced haze. "Bonnie. What happened to Bonnie?"

Damon looked thankful that his wife had finally spoken, but his mood quickly deflated. "She sacrificed herself so I could come back. But, I don't want anyone to know. No sense making this harder than it already is."

"Is she still alive?" Vanessa asked.

"I don't know," he answered.

"And what are we supposed to tell people?"

"Lie to them," he said. "Say she was never there in the first place."

Three soft knocks on the front door made Cassandra jump out of her skin and Vanessa comfortingly rubbed a hand on her shoulder before getting up to see who was at the door. Husband and wife sat in silence, one waiting for the other to speak first. The vampire leaned forward, reaching his hand across the table with his palm open. Cassandra eyed the hand cautiously as if it belonged to a stranger. Hesitantly, she lifted her own hand and gently placed it in his, sighing softly when his fingers closed around hers. It was like she had melted at the table before him. Her tense muscles relaxed, her back falling somewhat slack and the tension in her face evaporated. He could see the beginnings of tears behind her tired eyes which fell closed. A droplet ran down her cheek and plopped on the surface of the table as he ran his thumb along the back of her hand.

He could only imagine how hard this was for her. He hadn't expected her to react quite like this and it brought him more heartache than joy. She had managed to pick up the pieces of her shattered life and make it whole again. Whole without him. She had to learn to live without him and by the looks of her fully furnished home away from Mystic Falls that she had done it. She made a life for herself and Ava which was not a small task, but she had succeeded like he knew she would. He could never fault her for moving on; in fact that's what he would want for her as much as he hated to admit it. He wanted her to be happy and spoil their daughter even without him being in their lives. Damon felt her hand shaking within his grip and she was fighting back more tears from falling.

"Cass," he softly called and her eyes opened, revealing rippling dark pools. "I'm here."

She was crying again and he hated it. Tears streaked her cheeks and she tried to remove her hand from his to wipe them away, but he held fast to her. He then took up her other hand that rested on the table and held them both firmly. He leaned closer to her, making sure she was looking right at him.

"I'm here." Each word was a solemn promise that he would never go away again. He never wanted to cause this kind of pain on her as long as they both lived.

Cassandra sniffled and blinked away her tears, however more continued to fall. She couldn't decide if she was awake or dreaming. It all seemed so real; Damon's warm touch, his consoling words, his very presence. She felt all of it, but she was so afraid of it all vanishing before her eyes. She weaved her fingers through his, reminiscing in the feel of his skin against her.

"You're here." Her voice shook, but he understood her. Damon smiled and nodded, tears coming to his own eyes.

 _"Just let me come in."_

 _"Stefan, I can't do that."_

The voices at the door put Cassandra back on high alert and Damon saw her walls rise up. She pushed herself away from the table and walked to the door. He followed close behind and saw Stefan impatiently waiting outside on the porch. Cassandra stepped in front of Vanessa, staring Stefan down with a wild look in her eyes. Her tears had turned to stone and Stefan could feel himself shrinking from her.

"Leave." It was a harsh command that Stefan could not obey. "You aren't wanted here."

"I know I messed up," Stefan said.

"Get the hell off my porch!" Her voice became louder.

"Cassandra—"

"NO!" The hybrid leapt out of the house and gripped Stefan by the collar of his shirt. She lifted him up, threw him off the porch and stomped over to him. Damon moved to stop her, but Vanessa placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Let her do this; she needs to." She said softly. "I'll explain it later."

Stefan got to his feet just in time to catch a hard punch to his face. He knew he had this beating coming; it was only a matter of time before his sister-in-law unleashed her anger. He wanted to talk to her, but he knew he wouldn't be able to get a word in. As he peered at her, he could see her eyes turning amber and her nails growing slightly longer.

"You made your choice, Stefan. You chose to not be in Ava's life, so now you get to live with it." She punched him in the stomach and he doubled over before kneeing him in the face.

"I wanted to make a nice life for my daughter and wanted you there, but you know what? Now I don't." Her sharp nails slashed him across the cheek and she hit him again.

"I hate you!" She punched him. "I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" With each shout, her fist connected with his face until Stefan collapsed onto the ground. Blood stained her knuckles and flowed freely from his nose and the other cuts that marred his skin. She could see tears forming in his green eyes and as much as she wanted to cry because she was hurting, she wouldn't let him see her upset.

"Now, for the last time, get off my property and get out of our lives." She growled and didn't wait for him to get up before turning on her heel and walking back to the house. Damon was in shock; he didn't know all of this had happened in the four months he'd been gone. He had depended on his brother to be there for Cassandra and was disappointed that he had done the complete opposite.

Cassandra pushed passed the pair at the door and went upstairs, not wanting to speak another word about Stefan. Vanessa closed the front door and eyed Damon who hadn't moved from his spot.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," she said.

"I'm sorry she had to go through that," he replied sadly.

* * *

It was the warm rays of sunlight that gently awoke Cassandra from the most restful sleep she'd had in four months. She stretched herself in bed, letting her muscles bend and twist before settling back in her spot. As much as she wanted to spend the day in bed, she knew that Ava would be awake soon and would want breakfast. With a blissful smile upon her lips, she turned over on her side and reached for her husband, but was met with a cool surface.

Damon was gone.

She sat upright so fast her head had begun to spin. Had she dreamt of everything last night? Was it all just a fantasy that he had come home? Crippling anxiety gripped her so hard she thought she would vomit. No, she couldn't go through that pain again. In seconds, she was out of bed and zoomed down the hall, but was stopped by a looming shadow in Ava's room. A sigh of relief fell from her lips seeing that Damon had only left her side this morning to see his daughter.

The events of last night came back to her and she remembered inviting Damon inside after she had gotten over her initial shock. He explained everything to her; the eclipse, their encounter with Kai, and Bonnie's noble sacrifice. They were awake for quite some time since Cassandra was still in shock that her husband was sitting at her kitchen table. She tried to fit all of the pieces together and each new insight of information was another piece added to the very complex puzzle. She knew that she would be able to sort everything out by morning, but she didn't want to take her eyes off him; not for a second. She was afraid that if she did, he'd disappear forever.

Her fight with Stefan came back to her as well; feeling a twinge in the knuckles of her right hand whenever she opened and closed it. She wasn't sorry for what she did; in fact she was proud of it. For the longest time she wanted to give Stefan a piece of her mind and her fist and last night she gave him both. While she couldn't stop Damon from talking to Stefan, she knew that she would want nothing to do with him.

She walked to stand just off Damon's right shoulder and she pressed a hand to his back. He looked over at her and smiled softly before looking back to Ava who was sleeping peacefully in her crib. She was wrapped in pink blankets and a lulling melody played from the baby mobile above her. Damon was in awe of his little girl. She'd grown so much in the time he'd been gone and could only wish that he would have made it back sooner. He already missed a portion of her childhood, but he promised he wouldn't miss out on anymore of her life.

Damon carefully scooped up Ava and lifted her from her crib. He cradled her sleeping form in his arms and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. The scent of baby powder and lavender encircled him; oh how he missed that smell. Cassandra watch on in silence, seeing Damon with Ava was an image she missed the most and she counted her lucky stars that she was able to see it again. Ava slightly stirred in her father's embrace and her blue eyes opened up, making Damon's heart melt in his chest.

"Hi beautiful," he greeted her with a smile and at first, Ava looked unsure of this newcomer. She peered at him with her piercing eyes for a moment, but then a toothless grin pulled at her tiny lips. Her small hands reached for his face, her fingers tracing over his cheeks and jawline.

"She remembers me," Damon breathed happily and kissed Ava's cheeks.

"Of course she does." Cassandra brushed her fingers against Ava's pudgy arm. "We talk about daddy all time, right Munchkin?"

Ava blew raspberries with her mouth and Damon chuckled. Cassandra took a burp cloth and wiped Ava's lips of drool, making the baby giggle even more. Damon hugged Ava close and then wrapped his free arm around Cassandra's waist. The three just stood in the nursery, soaking up the togetherness they all yearned for, for so long. Cassandra pressed her lips to the side of Damon's neck before nuzzling her face into his warm skin.

"Damon..." She lifted her head and peered up at him. "I'm sorry about last night...with Stefan."

"You don't ever have to apologize for that," he said to her. "My brother messed up and now he has to live with that."

"I gave him chances, I—"

"I know. Vanessa gave me the rundown." He nodded. "Remind me never to get you mad. You throw a mean right hook."

His wife giggled softly, a smile tugging at her lips. She gently ran her fingers down Ava's back, making her wiggle excitedly in her father's hold. Their sweet moment was interrupted by Cassandra's phone ringing from her room. As much as she didn't want to pull away from her husband, she worried that the person on the other line needed them.

"I better take this," she murmured as she pulled away from him.

"It's alright." Damon's eyes twinkled in the sunlight. "Besides, you've had this angel for four months. I've got a lot of catching up to do."

Cassandra brought her lips to his, kissing them softly before traipsing back to their room. She gripped her phone and her forehead creased at the Caller ID. She answered the call, putting the phone up to her ear.

"Matt, hey. Everything alright?"

 _"I, uh, wish I could say yes,"_ Matt replied as he looked to a vampire in chains. Tripp had informed him this morning that he'd received a tip from a guy who helped him catch a vampire, so naturally Matt was worried that it could be one of his friends and went to see except he did not expect to see Enzo trapped in Tripp's cabin deep in the woods. Matt knew Tripp's plans when it came to vampires and it wasn't pretty.

 _"You might want to see this."_

* * *

"So, I heard you gave Stefan a pretty bad beating."

"Well, you certainly heard right."

Caroline and Cassandra treaded through the thick woods, their boots kicking the colorful leaves at their feet. They followed Matt's directions and could see the outline of a cabin not far off in the distance. Stefan was originally supposed to come with Caroline, but after hearing that Cassandra would be joining them, he quickly found something else to do. As much as Cassandra didn't want anything to do with helping Enzo, she thought it was the right thing to do especially with Damon being home.

"I only wish I was there to see it." Caroline added as they continued toward the log cabin.

"If he ever makes an appearance at my home again, I'll be sure to give you a call." Cassandra stepped around a rotting tree stump. "Although after last night, I think he got the hint."

"Well, I for one, am super proud of you." The blonde smiled. "Stefan had it coming. You just wanted to protect Ava and you did like the kick ass momma lion that you are."

Cassandra gave her a wry smirk. "Last I checked, I'm part wolf."

"It's a metaphor," she said. "But seriously, I'm proud of you."

"Thanks Care." She rubbed her hand along her shoulder as they came up to the cabin.

"I just can't believe this whole thing is Stefan's fault." Caroline grumbled.

"As if that fact alone should surprise you."

"He handed Enzo over so we wouldn't be targeted, and now he wants to rescue him so we won't be targeted. Way to go." Caroline spat sarcastically.

"I wouldn't put it past him to rat out Ivy too." Cassandra's notion made the blonde raise an eyebrow. "Well, he didn't want to deal with her anymore. He wanted her gone and now she is."

"You've got a point." The vampire said.

Cassandra moved for the door of the cabin and threw it open. The pair stepped inside, finding a set of chains hanging from the wall, but no Enzo. They spread out, searching each corner of the cabin but grimaced realizing that Tripp had taken Enzo elsewhere.

"Enzo! If you're 'punking' us, now would be a good time to reveal yourself!" Caroline called out into the lonely cell.

"He's not here." Cassandra replied, bending down towards the heavy chains. "So, we won't be seeing Ashton Kutcher anytime soon."

"Where would Tripp have taken him?" Caroline asked.

"I don't know. Maybe Stefan might know, since him and Tripp are such good buddies." She replied snidely.

"I'm calling Matt." The blonde huffed while rustling around in her bag.

Cassandra's phone then rang from her pocket and she rolled her eyes. "Every time this thing rings it always means trouble is calling."

"Tell me about it," Caroline sighed.

"Hello?" She answered the phone.

 _"Cassandra..."_

"Ric? What's the matter?" She didn't like the tone of his voice.

Alaric picked up a smashed phone from off the ground and could smell the little droplets of blood that had soaked into the carpet. He'd left his office for a split second, entrusting Damon to sit tight for a few and he came back to find his friend missing and his office in a shambles. His eyes trailed to the vervain dart that was embedded in the side of his desk and he plucked it out, weighing it in his hand.

"Ric? Hello?" She sang. "Talk to me."

 _"Damon's gone."_

Those two words were enough to turn the blood in her veins to ice water. All of the color drained from her face and she felt as if her entire body had been trampled by a freight train. It was the Other Side disappearing all over again. Ric was calling her name through the phone, but it had already slipped through her fingers and fallen to the ground. Caroline rushed to Cassandra, gripping her shoulders tightly as she looked very uneasy on her feet. She had heard the conversation between Alaric and Cassandra, not wanting to believe the inevitable, but with each passing second the reality of it came crashing down on her.

"Cassandra, look at me." Caroline gently shook the hybrid. "We're gonna get Damon back. It's going to be okay."

"It's Tripp; it has to be," she said quietly, her stare looking through the blonde vampire.

"We'll find him." Caroline assured her. "I promise."

* * *

Cassandra's brakes screeched against the asphalt and her truck came to a halt. She hopped out of the driver's seat and zoomed to the hood, throwing it open so hard it nearly flew off its hinges. She reached inside, yanking out some tubes and wires and the car sparked brightly. Alaric had exited the car and was on the phone with Caroline. Liz Forbes had created a police block for Tripp on Old Miller Road, so he would have no choice but to turn around and head in the direction where Cassandra had parked her own car. Cassandra tossed the torn wires aside, waving the smoke wafting from the hood with her hands. When Tripp would drive by, they would be ready for him.

"This plan better work," Cassandra muttered with her arms crossed over her chest.

"It will work," Ric assured her. "We just have to wait for Tripp to double back this way."

"God, I could kill Stefan!" She hissed, clenching her hands into fists at her sides.

"Well, if we get out of this alive, you can do that." The pair whipped around to see Stefan walking up to them.

"You son of a—" Cassandra zoomed to him, but Rich caught her, holding her back.

"Easy, easy!" He scolded her.

"This is all your fault! You jerk!" She thrashed in Ric's hold.

"Listen to me. Stop!" Ric jostled her roughly. "Tripp is coming any second and I don't think he'll want to see you two beating each other's skulls in. So, knock it off."

He waited until Cassandra calmed in his hold before letting her go. She adjusted herself, yanking down her shirt and glaring at Stefan in silence. The rumble of a truck could be heard in the distance and the light from the high beams cast a shadow on the road.

"Okay, you get in the car." Ric pointed to Stefan who nodded and did what he was told. "I'll deal with Tripp and Cassandra, you stay out of sight. When the van stops, you can break Damon and Enzo out of the back."

"Fine, but I'm killing Stefan when this is over." Cassandra muttered and hid among the bushes on the side of the road just as the van pulled up.

"Evening." Ric smiled and gave Tripp a friendly wave. The window on the van was rolled down halfway and Tripp remained cautious to this newcomer. "I'm trying to get my buddy to a bachelor party and our car just stopped. You think you can help us out?"

"Oh, I don't know anything about cars." Tripp shook his head.

"Yeah..." Ric trailed off and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cassandra sneaking toward the back of the van. He placed his arm up on the side of the van, blocking Tripp's view of the driver's side mirror and Cassandra concealed herself.

"Oh well, maybe you could give us a ride then?"

The hybrid pressed her ear to the doors of the van and could make out two distinct heartbeats from inside. She thanked the stars that they were both still alive, but knew she could celebrate later. Ric would only be able to keep Tripp occupied for so long, so she had to act quickly. The lock on the doors was heavy and needed a key which she was sure Tripp kept on his person. Deciding against causing a ruckus and breaking the door down, she slipped a bobby pin from her hair and stuck it in the lock.

"Damon, I'm gonna get you out of here." She whispered through the door's seam.

It took a moment before she received a reply, but she was met with her husband's voice close to the other side of the door.

 _"Have I ever told you that you're the best wife in the world?"_ He smirked.

"You can tell me when we get you out of this mess," she said.

 _"Don't forget about me, darling."_ Enzo's teasing voice made Cassandra roll her eyes. She prodded the pin in the lock, twisting it around and listening for the telltale click when the lock would open.

 _"Are you really using a bobby pin?"_ Enzo chuckled softly.

 _"Quiet!"_ Damon hissed.

 _"What? I'm sorry, I didn't know Nancy Drew was here to save the day."_

"Will you two shut up?" The hybrid growled under her breath, becoming frustrated with their bickering.

Suddenly, the driver's side window crashed and a struggle could be heard from the front of the van. Cassandra knew her time was limited, so she tossed the bobby pin aside and kicked the lock off the doors. Just as she went to remove the latch, the van screeched, its tires burning against the pavement. Cassandra jumped up and held on tight to the roof of the van as it sped down the road. Her nails pierced the van's outer shell and she tried to use her feet to maneuver the latch open. She had managed to get her foot under the latch, but she was thrown off the van with impressive force when it crashed into her car. She tumbled over the grass along with the van and saw the Welcome to Mystic Falls sign just before the pain began.

* * *

"Ah!" She cried out, her body contorting and contracting with agony. Warm blood stained her clothes and her limbs throbbed. She thought after experiencing this more than once that she would be used to it by now, but nothing could prepare her for dying all over again. Her cries were not the only ones that could be heard; Ric was a few feet from them while Damon and Enzo were still inside the van.

Cassandra rolled onto her stomach and got to her hands and knees. She stood with much difficulty and limped to the overturned van. A sharp pain shot up her spine and she crumpled to the ground, her legs giving out on her. Hot blood poured from her mouth, making puddles in the dark green grass. She lifted her head hearing Damon's moans from inside the van and she began to crawl towards it. Finally she reached the doors and used the side of the van to get up. She pulled the latch, but it had concaved from the crash.

"Damon! Enzo!" She banged on the doors and she received a series of groans in reply. She pulled on the door again and was soon joined by another set of hands. Looking to her right, she saw Stefan beside her, tugging on the bent doors.

"Stefan, what are you...doing here?" She asked him.

"No time...for us to argue." He gritted and punched the door. "We have to get this open."

Cassandra's eyes darted around her and she quickly found two long metal bars from the car that the van had squashed. Surely one of them would be able to get the latch open. She passed one to Stefan and the pair began to try at the doors again with their weapons in hand. Inside the van, Damon and Enzo were still shaken from the crash and were trying to get their bearings. Their ears perked up at the banging sounds coming from outside and they hoped that it wasn't Tripp.

"I can't get it open!" Stefan shouted in frustration.

"Well, try harder!" Cassandra hissed and whacked the trunk of the van again and again. Stefan did the same and the door had bent just enough for a bar to fit underneath. Cassandra then hooked the end of the bar into the latch and yanked hard, making it come loose. She and Stefan then threw the doors off their hinges and crawled inside the van. Damon and Enzo were tangled in their chains, each of them dying in their own way. Cassandra immediately went for Damon while Stefan did Enzo. Chains were torn from the van and the four of them stumbled to the border. Cassandra had her arm around Damon's waist while Stefan wrapped Enzo's arm around his neck.

"Come on. Come on." Stefan chanted to Enzo who was dragging his feet behind him.

Damon's legs buckled and he nearly fell, but Cassandra held tightly to him. "We're almost there. Don't stop now."

They were only a few feet away from the border, but to them it seemed like miles. Each heavy step brought them closer and closer to being alive again. Cassandra positioned Damon higher up on her body, so she would be supporting most of his weight while Stefan just dragged a weak Enzo along. With one last heave, the four of them tumbled over the border, breathing in the life that had almost left them for good. Enzo and Damon collapsed to the ground while Cassandra knelt beside them. Stefan stood separate, his green gaze surveying the wreckage.

* * *

It was the sound of the shower being turned on that woke Damon from his restful sleep. He turned over in bed to see Cassandra's spot empty and gathered that she was the one in the bathroom. After the wreckage, they'd learned that Ric had turned back into a human after being over the border for too long. Perhaps the same fate would have awaited Damon, but he preferred not to give it a second thought. Ric was taken to the hospital since his vampire healing was gone and his wounds needed a doctor's care. Luckily, Jo, had followed him to Old Miller Road and seen the entire thing.

Everyone parted their own separate ways, Elena and Caroline heading back to Whitmore, Enzo heading to wherever and Damon and Cassandra went home. Stefan didn't say a word to anyone; he just skulked off under the cover of night. Damon wanted to talk to his brother, to knock some sense into him, but he could see that Stefan was having an internal battle of his own. Guessing he knew his moral brother, Stefan would find a way to make it right, but he feared that it would be too late to make amends with Cassandra.

Damon quietly snuck out of bed and peaked into Ava's room to check on her before heading to the bathroom. The baby was sleeping peacefully in her crib, the baby mobile circling above her head and playing a soothing melody. Entering the bathroom, he was welcomed by hot puffs of steam that clouded the glass mirrors and the walls of the shower, but he could see the outline of his wife through it. She must have just stepped under the spray of water since a few of her curls were still dry. He watched as she tilted her head back and let the hot water pour over her face and body, an image he missed while he was gone. He swallowed shallowly, all of the blood in his body had rushed south.

"If you're going to stand there gaping, do it in here." Her teasing chuckle made him blink, he was sure he had forgotten to once he caught sight of her wet body. She flashed him a wide smile from over her shoulder and Damon quickly stripped down, joining his wife in the shower and closing the door behind him.

Their chests bumped against each other's, making a chorus of giggles fall from their lips. Cassandra stepped further back to try and make some more room, but the cool tiles pressing into her skin meant there wasn't much room to be made.

"Definitely not as spacious as our shower in the boarding house." She said and Damon wet his hair with the water that streamed from the faucet.

"I miss that house." She added.

"You want to know what I missed?" He asked and she tilted her head to the side. His arm looped around her waist and pulled her close.

"You."

Cassandra stared up at him, into those hauntingly beautiful blue eyes that she fell in love with all those years ago. It still didn't feel real that he was with her in that moment. She worried initially that it would take time for her to get used to him being home again, but it was as if he never really left. Her heart hammered in her chest so loudly she swore Damon could hear it. Her emotions from the previous night came flooding in and she was powerless to stop them. Deep down, she didn't want to stop them. She wanted to drown in them, for them to slowly pull her beneath the surface. She was so eager to feel emotions other than grief and guilt.

Damon's hands moved to cup her cheeks and he caught the quiver of her bottom lip as he leaned even closer to her. He could feel the blood pulsing through her veins. He looked down at her in awe; in this moment he had never seen her look more beautiful. Slightly flushed cheeks, wet hair, and the twinkling of happy tears in her eyes. In that moment, he fell in love with her all over again. Four months away had been far too long and he would never abandon her again as long as there was breath in his lungs. He tucked a soaking wet lock of hair behind her ear and rubbed his thumb along her trembling bottom lip.

His lips covered hers and she melted into his embrace. Her arms hooked behind his neck and she kissed him back. The water splashed down on their entangled bodies and the steam fogged up the glass walls. Her fingers weaved through his silken hair, gently pulling him closer. He moaned against her lips and pressed his nails into her hips. She moved her hands over his strong shoulders and back, her fingertips mapping every square inch of him. Desire ran thick in their veins, a desire to be impossibly closer than they already were. Damon moved their bodies backwards until Cassandra's back was to the wall, relishing in the tiny squeak that left her lips when the cool tile hit her seemingly scorching skin.

Cassandra felt his hands at the backs of her thighs and she hopped up, wrapping her legs around his waist. Her ankles and crossed, securing herself and she slid onto his rigid length. Their lips separated from their feverish kiss and their eyes locked in a moment of pure passion. Damon's mouth was agape, the feeling of being inside his wife again was something he'd go to hell and back for. Cassandra tightened around him, clenching and fluttering as he pulsed inside her. Four month away and they were finally intimately connected after all that time apart. Damon kissed her again, harder this time as he began to thrust into her. Cassandra swiveled her hips to meet his, making him hit every dip and curve inside her.

Nails dug into skin and teeth yanked at lips as the pair neared their climaxes. Damon's mouth suckled at the skin at the nape of Cassandra's neck and she thanked the heavens that Ava was still sleeping soundly. She would have hated for this moment with Damon to end. Her moans were masked by the running water and she unlaced her arms to grip onto his shoulders. Damon bit teasingly at her skin and she begged for him to feed, practically purring in his ear. His fangs sliced into her neck and her sharp nails pierced his back, making him growl lustfully in his chest. Cassandra leaned her head down and embedded her fangs into his shoulder and they were both thrown headfirst into their orgasms. They clung to one another and their bodies shuddered. It was long overdue that they had felt like this. It seemed as though years had passed that they stayed interlocked in their embrace. The water turned cold above their heads and Cassandra carefully unwound her legs from his waist. She wobbled uneasily, but Damon held her against his own trembling form. Warm blood stained their lips and they rested their foreheads against one another's.

"I love you." Their whispers were woven together much like their heartbeats. Cassandra pressed herself into Damon's body, wishing for tonight to never end.

* * *

Smut, smut, smut ;) Please give this chapter some love and thank you to everyone who reviewed. Also, if you haven't done so already, please review the latest chapter of **My Soul To Keep**. See you next time!

* * *

 **VampirePrincess11** **:** Thank you so much for reviewing! It is so exciting to have Damon back with his family and especially with his little girl. I'm anxious to get Bonnie back soon, but unfortunately we all know that Kai comes back with her :/

 **twin of a sister:** Of course I know you so well! We're friends, DUH! LOL! But seriously though, thank you so much for reviewing. I am very happy you enjoyed reading this chapter. It was a long time coming for Damon to come home.

 **grapejuice101** **:** Thanks for reviewing! I am so ready to write more Damon/Cassandra/Ava scenes because let's face it, Damon and Cassandra make adorable babies ;)

 **CarlyLynn** **:** Thank you for reviewing, my friend! Damon is finally back where he belongs and I would like to keep it that way, however Julie Plec has some interesting plans for Season 8. To answer your PS at the end of my last chapter, I am heartbroken that TVD will be ending after Season 8. I do want to keep my story going, but I am not quite sure how to do so. I will have to see how the show plans to end. Is it bad to wish for happy endings for everyone? LOL!

 **DamonsSavior** **:** Yes to both of those things! I am hoping to have the next chapter out soon. Hope you enjoyed this update :)

 **bfireworks5** **:** You're damn right Damandra is BAAACCKK! Thanks so much for reviewing :) Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

 **SomebodyWhoCares** **:** By the end of this chapter it seemed like Cassandra and Damon certainly caught up a lot ;)

 **Queen24824** **:** Thank you Queen 24824 :) I am so glad that you're enjoying my writing. I hope that you continue to read and review in the future!

 **Shining Ruby** **:** I cried as I was writing Damon and Cassandra's reunion too. Happy tears, of course. I am thrilled that you're enjoying my story and thank you for reviewing :) You are beyond sweet!

 **lijahsgirl** **:** I know, right?! I am so excited to have Damon back with his family. Thank you for reviewing!

 **vampangel25** **:** Here's your update! Hope you liked it :)

 **NicoleR85** **:** I'm very glad that Damon is back too! Thanks for reviewing!

 **Cushy96** **:** Thank you for reviewing! I hope you liked the reunion between Damon and Ava.

 **Harshita94** **:** *hands you some tissues* I was ugly sobbing too, girl. Thank you so much for your kind words and for reviewing. I try my hardest to make my stories my own and I love the support I get from my readers :)

 **Xjenzafreakx:** Thanks so much for reviewing! I know you don't frequently review, but whenever I get one I appreciate it :) Yeah, TVD has kinda spun out of control. I didn't really watch this season, so I know I'll be super lost when it comes to watching Season 8. I hope I can continue to make TVD continue to make sense for all of my readers.

 **BrittStar1199** **:** Thank you for reviewing! I'm glad to have Damon home too. I would LOVE for Hope and Ava to meet one another. I've already got plot bunnies forming in my head for a story idea ;)

 **SPARKELS77** **:** Thank you for reviewing! I hope you liked the newest chapter!

 **meangirl8** **:** Thanks so much for reviewing! Hope you enjoyed this next update. It's so great to have Damon, Cassandra and Ava back together.


	7. Do You Remember the First Time

**The Long Way Home**

 **Chapter 7: Do You Remember the First Time?**

 **Beta:** **PrincessOfSilence**

 **Disclaimer:** **I own nothing of The Vampire Diaries. I only own my characters and my story.**

* * *

"Will you stop doing that?!" Cassandra snapped at her husband as she adjusted Ava in her arms.

"Seriously, I don't think you should be playing with all that stuff," Ric groaned tiredly.

Damon looked over his shoulder at the pair who was glaring at him, but even their disapproving stares wouldn't make his fingers stop pressing the buttons on the machines that Ric was hooked up to at Whitmore Hospital. The only one who was amused by Damon's behaviors was Ava who was giggling and clapping in her mother's arms because of the beeping sounds the machines were making. Her approval only fueled Damon's fire more and he continued to play with the buttons and feeds. Cassandra said a few prayers in hopes that the machines would not break, because she would not be paying for a new one.

"So, you're completely human again?" Cassandra asked Ric, trying to ignore her husband's antics.

Ric shrugged, the uncomfortable hospital bedsheets scratching against him. "Judging by the incredible pain that I'm feeling, yes I am completely human."

"But why?" She wondered. "Being over the border that long should have killed you."

"Hey, I'm not complaining."

"Speak for yourself, Ric." Damon grinned, earning a narrowed stare from his wife. He held up his hands, making the machines go silent. "I'm kidding."

Cassandra rolled her eyes and turned back to Ric. "But what about Elena's compulsion?"

The professor frowned deeply, his fingers fumbling with the bedsheets. "I...can't take it back now."

The hybrid blanched, her brown eyes going wide. "You mean, her memories of Damon and Bonnie are gone forever?"

"Elena, what now?" Damon asked, finally tuning into the conversation.

His wife heaved a heavy sigh, having to explain the story again. "Elena asked Ric to compel her memories of you and Bonnie away until you guys came back."

"Nice job, Ric," the vampire quipped.

"Look, if I could take it all back, I would."

"We know, Ric," Cassandra consoled, all the while keeping Damon's form in her peripheral vision. She caught him reaching for the outlet in the wall.

"Don't you dare." She warned and Damon froze, a mischievous look in his eyes. Cassandra then took Ava off her hip and handed her to Damon. "Here, you hold her, so your hands don't wander."

"I will happily take her." Damon smiled, nestling his little girl on his hip much like Cassandra had done. He blew raspberries into Ava's cheek and she squealed happily.

"Don't blame yourself for what happened to Elena, okay?" Cassandra tried to make Ric feel better. "We'll figure something out."

Ric opened his mouth to speak, but a blaring beep from his heart monitor stopped him. The monitor read a straight line and Cassandra panicked, scared that something was happening to Ric because of his injuries last night. Before anyone could move, Jo rushed into the room and checked the standing monitor. She then looked to Ric who seemed to be doing fine which added to her confusion, but she realized the monitor on his finger was missing.

"Morning. Why did you take your monitor off?" She asked him firmly.

"I didn't," Ric replied honestly.

Following her instincts, Cassandra turned to face Damon who had gotten oddly quiet all of the sudden. He stood there with an innocent look on his face, but that wasn't what surprised her. Gripped in Ava's hand was the monitor from Ric's finger. She was squeezing the rubbery piece between her chubby fingers while Damon gave a mock gasp of shock.

"Ava," he playfully scolded. "That is not a toy."

The baby grinned and went to put the monitor in her mouth, but Cassandra took it and handed it to Jo. She then placed Ava back on her hip and fished a binky from her bag.

"Sorry about that Dr. Laughlin."

"Oh, my interns call me that. Please call me Jo." The doctor responded. She then peered at Cassandra curiously, her glance passing from mother to baby. "Wait, I've treated you before, right?"

"Yes, you have."

"Yeah, you came in after falling on your stomach." Jo recalled and smiled to the baby in her arms. "Judging by this little cutie, you both seem to be doing just fine."

Ava nibbled at her binky while giving Jo a toothless smile. Jo smiled back at her, making Ava excitedly kick her legs back and forth. Cassandra had noticed that Ava took a liking to certain people while wanting nothing to do with others. She was normally cautious towards newcomers, but after a few seconds, she would know whether she liked a person or not. Cassandra wondered if Ava had been born with a similar wolf instinct that she had or if her daughter was just a choosey baby. Ava sucked her binky into her mouth and continued to look at Jo in wonderment.

"She's beautiful." The doctor reached out and gently stroked Ava's arm, making her coo softly.

"Of course she is." Damon piped up from the corner. "Look at my wife and I; we're perfect specimens."

"And I see you've met my husband, Damon." Cassandra chuckled and Damon waved at Jo.

"The one who is back from the dead?" The doctor asked.

"That'd be me. Just a heads-up, doc." The vampire began. "You're gonna be in real high demand with a bunch of vampires who want to be human again if you could repeat that little healing trick that you did at the border with Ric last night."

"Well, just a 'heads-up,'" the doctor countered. "But saving Alaric's life was a matter of a treatable death wound, perfect timing, and fear of losing the most interesting guy I've dated in a while adrenaline. One-hundred-percent unrepeatable, which is why you will tell no one."

Damon smirked at Ric. "She's bossy."

"Mmhmm." He nodded.

"I like it." Cassandra grinned and smacked her hand on Ric's shoulder approvingly, however he winced in pain, making her draw her hand back.

"Oops. Sorry."

"Do you have a nice suit and a clean pair of socks?" Jo asked Alaric.

"Uh, yeah, I think so."

"Good. I'm releasing you. The hospital fundraiser's tonight; I'm making the interns go, so I need a date. I'll start your paperwork." The doctor promptly left the room, making Damon and Cassandra smirk at one another while Ric remained stunned in his bed.

"We'll let you get ready and meet you downstairs, okay?" Cassandra, Damon, and Ava exited the room and walked down the hallway when Damon stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

"What are you doing tonight?" He asked her.

Cassandra raised her eyebrow. "Uhm, I don't know, actually."

"How about coming to the fundraiser with me?"

"I don't know, Damon. I promised Vanessa I'd give her the night off and I would have Ava tonight."

"So, just take it back," he joked.

Cassandra shook her head. "I can't just take it back. We're on a schedule."

"Then take Ava with you. I'll pick you up at 8." With a smirk and a wiggle of his eyebrows, Damon sauntered down the corridor.

"Damon, we live in the same house!" She called back at him.

He turned over his shoulder, a cool grin on his lips. "8 o'clock sharp."

Cassandra glanced to Ava who was still sucking on her binky. She kissed her forehead and gently stroked her back.

"Yep. That's your daddy for you."

* * *

Vanessa leaned herself against the wall of the abandoned shack while she watched Enzo circle Tripp like a shark. After the accident last night, Matt had taken an unconscious Tripp to the very cabin where he tortured Enzo for information about the vampires he knew. Except now, Tripp was the one in the hot seat. His wrists and ankles were secured to the chair with heavy chains and Enzo was sure to keep him weak by draining some blood every so often. Vanessa had come to help get some information out of Tripp, hoping that she and Cassandra had lived under the radar long enough to go unnoticed. Enzo was getting bored of Tripp being unconscious, so he roughly kicked the leg of his chair and the man was startled awake.

"Hello again." The vampire smiled widely. "That was quite a mess you made at the border last night. Hit-and-run. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Good thing Matt here was in the neighborhood to give you a ride home."

Tripp lifted his head to the blued eyed young man standing beside Vanessa. "You brought me here?"

"You went after my friends. What'd you expect?" Matt replied.

"Your friends who kill people," Tripp stressed.

"You can blame Enzo for that," Vanessa grumbled. "The rest of us are kinda off the hook, right?"

"No way in hell." Tripp narrowed his gaze at her. "You think I don't know about you and your friend?"

The blonde shifted anxiously and she took a few steps closer to him. "What are you talking about?"

"I've been casing that house for months. It seemed odd to me that your friend's husband mysteriously disappeared and then you two bought that house just on the edge of town shortly after," he explained. "There have been a lot of reports filed that people were being bitten just on the border of Mystic Falls."

"We haven't hurt anyone," she argued, her fists clenching at her sides. "Looks like you should check your facts."

"I know it's the two of you that are killing people and I'm sure that baby you're taking care of is just as dangerous as you." The rest of his insult was quickly swallowed when Vanessa lunged forward, gripping his throat.

"Listen to me, you pig." She tightened her grip and Enzo tried to wrestle her off, but she remained still as stone. "If you ever go near that baby I will gut you and hang you in the town square for everyone to see."

"Easy, easy." Enzo tsked as he watched Tripp's face begin to turn purple. "Let him go, darling. Believe it or not, we need him."

"No one would miss him." Vanessa flashed her teeth threateningly before letting go of Tripp roughly.

The door to the cabin opened and Stefan walked inside, making sure to shut and lock the door behind him. He looked to Enzo disapprovingly and shook his head.

"Why is he still alive?" He gestured to Tripp.

"That's what I keep asking," Vanessa grumbled.

"Well, Stefan, you've made a very passionate argument in favor of snapping Tripp's neck, whereas in a surprising role reversal, I've opted for the, "let's think this through, get all the information before we kill him" method." The dark-haired vampire crossed his arms over his chest.

"Don't be a dick." Matt shook his head disapprovingly. "You know, you can drain the vervain out of him, compel him to forget everything, and he'll never set foot in Mystic Falls again."

"You don't really think he's a one-man vampire busting operation, do you?" Enzo growled. "While Tripp tortured me for the names of your friends, I had a front-row seat to quite a few urgent phone calls and visits from mysterious right-hand men, many of whom were wearing uniforms not dissimilar to the one you've been traipsing around in. I'd just like to know what they're up to while he's here with us."

"Clock is ticking, Tripp." Vanessa tsked, her fangs poking out over her lips.

Tripp didn't budge. Instead his gaze wandered between the three vampires he was currently at the mercy of. He swallowed roughly, wondering if he stayed silent long enough would he be able to keep his operation a secret. Stefan had grown tired of waiting, so he gripped a hammer from the back wall of the shack and smashed it down on Tripp's hand.

"Aah! Aah!" He howled, his cries mixing with the sound of his bones crunching. "They're doing the same thing they were when they were with me. They're tracking vampires like your friend Caroline Forbes."

"Take two hours, get the names of his men and what they know." Stefan handed Vanessa the hammer and gave one last look at Tripp. "After that, he's a liability. Get rid of him."

* * *

"So, what are you, the guest of honor or something?" Ric asked Jo as they walked into the Whitmore banquet hall.

"I won an award for a battlefield medical clamp I patented," Jo replied. "Whitmore likes to trot me out when they want to raise money."

"So basically, you're a genius." He grinned at her.

"Or she has a witchy advantage." Damon then wedged his way in between the two of them and wrapped his arms around their shoulders. Ric looked at him incriminatingly and Damon shrugged. "What, supposed to be a secret that she's a witch?"

"That little fact wasn't meant to be spoken in a room full of people," Cassandra tutted, sauntering up to them with Ava in her arms.

"Have you forgotten who you're married to?" Her husband chortled and turned to Jo. "So, spill."

"I don't practice, so no _witchy_ advantage, just a lot of hard work." She answered.

"Well, congratulations, Jo." Cassandra smiled warmly. "You certainly deserve it."

"Thank you." The doctor's smile matched hers. She looked to Ava who was playing with the tulle on her lavender dress. "Couldn't find a sitter?"

"Ours is currently occupied, so I figured it would be a nice family outing for the three of us." Damon moved away from Ric and Jo to press a kiss on Ava's forehead.

"It's her first formal party." Cassandra adjusted Ava higher up on her hip. The baby smiled at Jo who reached a hand out tickle her side. The baby squealed happily, her giggles making Jo tickle her more.

"She's a sweetheart." Jo tapped Ava's nose with her finger.

"Thank you." The mother kissed her baby's forehead.

"This sure is a swanky party." Damon noted.

"Yeah, Whitmore likes to spend lots of money hosting fancy event like these." The doctor replied.

Cassandra scanned the room and in the sea of passing waiters and waitresses, she spotted Elena with Liam over by the bar. He was excitedly telling her a story while her eyes were wide with wonder. When Liam got to the end of the story, she let out a hearty laugh, so much so that she covered her mouth as to not disturb other guests that were around them while they waited for their drinks.

"Elena looks very happy." A smile tugged gently at the hybrid's lips.

"Liam is a good kid," Jo said. "Valedictorian, straight A's freshman year taking junior-level classes, not to mention medical royalty."

"Easy on the eyes too." Cassandra chuckled.

"I mean, if you like that sort of thing." Damon rolled his eyes. "I'm going to get a drink. Cass?"

"A water, please."

"Jo? Ric?" Both held up their drinks. Damon slithered past them and up to the bar. Ava seemed to get a little fussy seeing her daddy walk away from them, so Cassandra gently rocked her, whispering that daddy would be back in a moment.

Jo frowned at the baby's anxiousness and passed a hand over her back. "Ric kinda filled me in on what happened. I can see why she has a little bit of separation anxiety."

Cassandra kissed Ava's temple and continued to sway her back and forth. "It's been a tough four months for all of us."

"I can only imagine." The dark-haired doctor said.

"But it looks like you guys are adjusting nicely." Ric offered.

"We're doing what we can." Cassandra replied, happy that Ava had calmed down once she had Damon in her sights. "I'll tell you it definitely helps having an extra set of hands to change diapers."

"I still can't picture Damon changing diapers." The professor chuckled.

"He complained about it at first, but he got over it." The hybrid grinned. "He's been really great with Ava. Not that I doubted he would be, but..."

"You were worried about him being away for so long." Ric finished for her and she nodded.

"I feel guilty. I should have had more faith in him." She shuffled awkwardly on her feet. "Then again, look at me. I was awfully close to giving up a few times."

"Look, I'm not a psychologist," Jo interceded. "But all of those emotions are very normal. In fact, they're expected. Especially given the birth of your daughter and Damon's departure."

"I agree with Jo." Ric nodded. "But on the bright side, you stepped up and did the best you could with what you had. You should be proud of yourself."

Ava let out a happy squeal as the lights from the dance floor twinkled in her bright blue eyes, making the small group chuckle as if her response was somehow in agreement with Ric. Cassandra hugged her baby girl closer, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"I guess you and I did okay." She smiled.

Ric placed his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "You absolutely did."

Cassandra's smile grew wider and silently thanked Ric for his little pep talk, wishing she could have heard it earlier, but she was still thankful for it now. In hindsight, she really had done what some might call impossible, but she came out of the other end of the tunnel a stronger person and better mother. She was so wrapped up in her pride that she almost didn't see Damon slither up beside Liam and a very anxious Elena.

Almost.

"Oh crap." Cassandra hushed.

"What? What is it?" Jo asked, following her eyes.

"Hold Ava, please. I'm worried Damon is currently giving Elena's new arm candy the third degree." She passed Ava to Jo and quickly made her way to the bar in hopes of stopping Damon before he did something that would upset Elena.

"So, Liam," Damon narrowed his blue eyes at him. "How did you and Elena meet?"

"We're in a lot of the same classes together." Liam explained, gently grasping Elena's hand in his.

"Fascinating." Damon wiggled his eyebrows.

Cassandra seemed out of breath by the time she got to them. Hopefully Damon hadn't done something to complete embarrass Elena. "Hi everyone."

"Hi Cassandra. It's nice to see you again." Liam greeted her to which Damon narrowed his eyes, wondering how this little punk knew his wife.

"Likewise." She smiled and looked to her husband as she placed her purse on the edge of the bar. "Darling, you said you were getting me a drink."

"Of course, my love, but I just happened to bump into Elena and her new friend Leland." Her husband replied.

"Uh, it's Liam," the boy corrected.

"That's not the point though." The vampire waved his hand and slipped an arm around Cassandra's waist. "So, how do you know my wife?"

Liam's blue eyes switched between the couple in front of him. "You two are married?"

Damon stepped forward and placed a hand on Liam's shoulder. The boy caught his gaze and was immediately sucked into the vampire's compulsion. "I asked how you knew my wife."

"Damon, stop it!" She hissed.

"Cut it out!" Elena growled.

"Oh, don't get your panties in a twist." The vampire chuckled at them and focused his attention back on Liam. "So, same question and please answer this time since I don't like repeating myself."

"We met the night of the accident at the corn maze," he responded.

Damon nodded approvingly and patted Liam's shoulder. "On a scale of 1 to 10, how freaked out are you right now?"

"I feel a little threatened, but I think I could take you," Liam replied.

The vampire rolled his eyes and squeezed Liam's shoulder. "Confident. Pfft. Sexy."

"Knock it off, Damon." Cassandra warned.

Damon took his wife by the waist and sipped his bourbon all in one smooth motion. "Well, you two enjoy the rest of your night."

"You too." Liam smiled as if the exchange between him and the vampire had never happened and the couple left them to enjoy their time together. Once they were out of earshot, Cassandra whirled around on Damon.

"What's the matter with you?"

Damon shrugged. "I haven't the slightest idea of what you're talking about."

His wife rolled her dark eyes. "You did not need to compel Elena's friend."

"Oh, come on, Cass. Where's your sense of humor?"

"I'm a mom now, Damon." She said. "I can't go around doing things that would put our daughter in danger."

"It was a little compulsion on a college kid." He countered. "No harm done."

Cassandra pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a sigh. "Damon-"

"I don't want to argue." He stopped her. "I wanted tonight to be a nice night for us."

"And it will be. I just want you to think before you do something, please. I know you haven't been here for four months, but a lot has changed. Vampires are in danger now, more so than they have been before."

Damon's normally cheeky demeanor deflated at his wife's words. Maybe he did go a little too far with Liam. Perhaps it was his attempt to integrate himself into being back in the modern world again, but he hadn't seen Cassandra this nervous in a very long time. That worried him. It worried him even more that four months had passed and the world around him managed to change so drastically that his hybrid wife was bent out of shape over it.

"Okay, I'm sorry." He took her hands in his, squeezing them reassuringly. "I love you."

Relief washed over her features and she let herself become pulled into him. "I love you too."

The upbeat music in the room faded into a slow-moving melody and the lights dimmed just a little with a circle of lights glowing on the dance floor. Couples moseyed on down, scooting close to their dates, even Elena and Liam had joined them. Damon then pulled his wife close, wrapping an arm around her waist and cradling her hand in his. He swayed them back and forth, blissfully uncaring that they were not on the dance floor with the rest of the couples.

"So, because you're kinda a redhead now," Damon began.

"Yes?" Cassandra wondered.

"Does this mean I get to think of new nicknames for you?"

His wife chuckled, her smile lighting up her entire face. "Alright, hit me with what you've got."

"Hmm, well there's 'Red,' but that's kind of obvious. Ooh, I could always call you 'The Little Mermaid.'"

"My hair is not _that_ red." She argued playfully and tousled her locks. "Do you...like it? My hair?"

Damon stared back at her, almost in disbelief that she would ever ask a question like that. "Of course I do. Cass, you could've walked into this party wearing a potato sack for a dress and a paper bag over your head and you'd still be the most beautiful woman in the room."

He twirled her and as he did, moved them onto the dance floor. There they were mingled in with the other couples, but they didn't matter. The rest of the world had fallen away as it typically did when the two of them were together. Damon's eyes searched hers, curious about the unfamiliar look his wife had been sporting ever since he came back to Mystic Falls.

"You're different." He said. "Why?"

"Honestly," Cassandra started. "Four months ago I lost my true love and the light of my life. I didn't know if I would be able to wake up the next morning and continue with my life, but I did. I had to learn how to live without you, Damon. It was hard and I didn't want to do it, but I had to for Ava."

Damon brought his wife closer, nestling their bodies close together. "Well, don't get used to living without me, honey because I don't ever plan to leave you."

Cassandra could feel fresh tears form in her eyes and her heart was nearly ready to burst. "Good, because we have to start putting money in a college fund for Ava."

"Or we could just compel her a free ride." He smirked.

Her grin matched his and she gave a short roll of her eyes. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

* * *

"I thought I could make the world a better place by getting rid of them, teach kids like you to be strong, defend yourselves," Tripp slumped in his chair, exhausted from the beatings Enzo and Vanessa had given him. They'd managed to get the names of the people that worked for Tripp and their agendas which all had a common theme. Killing vampires. Surprisingly, Matt stood by and watched in silence, knowing that the vampires' interrogation had to happen in order to keep his friends safe.

"But look at you. You're on the wrong side." He grumbled at Matt.

"Don't guilt trip him." Vanessa weighed the bloody hammer in her hands. "Unless you want your other kneecap broken."

"I'm not on the wrong side, man." Matt shook his head. "My side's just really freaking complicated."

Stefan entered the cabin, a look of panic on his face. "Tripp's men kidnapped Liz Forbes."

"What?!" Matt blanched.

"Lovely." Enzo grumbled.

"It's a contingency plan in case anything ever happened to me," Tripp replied weakly.

"That's your idea of being on the right side?"

"You can set the meet for the edge of town of Old Miller Road. You can do the trade there. They know they'll be safe behind the border." He snickered. "And send Matt. They trust him."

A low buzzing sound made all of them turn their attention to Tripp. Vanessa passed off the hammer to Matt and stalked over to him. She followed the sound and fished out Tripp's cellphone from the pocket of his jacket. It continued to buzz with a few text messages, so Vanessa, being the nosey vampire she was, decided to take it upon herself to check them.

"Well, you're certainly the popular one." She grinned as she flicked through the messages. One had a photo attachment, so she opened it and horror struck her to her core.

On the grainy phone screen was a picture of a smiling baby Ava, nestled in Jo's arms. The phone vibrated in Vanessa's hands as more messages came through, all photographs of Ava. In a rage, Vanessa yanked the hammer from Matt and held it over Tripp's unharmed kneecap while holding the phone in his face.

"You have exactly five seconds to tell me what this is!" She seethed.

"You and your friend are a threat to Mystic Falls." Tripp replied calmly.

"So this is what you train those kids to do?" She shoved the phone's screen closer to him. "To kill innocent children?!"

"I'm keeping my town safe. No matter the cost."

Vanessa threw the phone aside and brought the hammer down onto Tripp's knee. He let out a scream that could wake the dead and Matt squirmed at the pieces of blood and bone that fell from the hammer. The female vampire yanked Tripp's chain and tossed him to the ground. She delivered a firm kick to his side, further fracturing his already cracked ribs.

"Get him out of here." She growled and Stefan brought Tripp back to his feet. She dug inside her own bag with her bloodied hands and was able to grip onto her phone despite her slippery hold. She held it up to her ear and cursed as it continued to ring with no answer.

* * *

The lights in the hall dimmed even lower and Cassandra was completely lost in her husband. She had thought long ago that moments like these were gone forever, but thankfully they had come back to her. At times, she felt as though she was dreaming and was just waiting for the shadows of nightmares to creep upon her and yank her from her blissfulness, but they never came. As she stared up into her husband's blue eyes, she couldn't fight the smile ebbing at her lips.

"What?" He asked curiously, but she just shook her head.

"Nothing," she replied.

Cassandra leaned in for a kiss, but suddenly froze when her gaze caught sight of a gentleman over Damon's shoulder. He was in the corner of the room, against the wall, away from everyone else with his phone in his hand. The device was poised in his grip and she noticed the rotation of the ball and socket joint on his thumb as he moved it closer to the phone's screen. He repeated the movement a few times before moving his hand and doing the same thing.

Something didn't feel right.

The hairs at the nape of her neck stood on edge as she watched the man pocket his phone inside the lining of his suit jacket. He was built, easily twice Damon's size, but she would be able to get answers out of him. She untangled herself from Damon only when she saw the man make way for the door to leave the banquet hall. She could hear Damon calling out to her, but she gave him a half-muffled reply, one that he couldn't make sense of.

Damon's gaze followed her, eyes trained on her prey as she skillfully maneuvered between the partygoers. She blew past Ric and Jo who were too distracted by Ava to notice. He made a step to follow her, but a low buzzing in his ear made him turn. Perched on the bar was Cassandra's bag and his senses could pick up the vibrations coming from it. He plucked the bag from the bar's surface, fished through it and held her phone up to his ear.

"Hello?"

 _"Thank God! I've called you like 15 times!"_ Vanessa all but shouted on the other line.

"What's the matter, Tinkerbell?"

 _"Where is Ava?"_ Damon's eyes lifted and located his daughter who was still with Jo and Ric.

"She's fine," he replied.

 _"Tripp's men were sent to do a little reconnaissance mission tonight,"_ she said. _"His merry band of idiots are vampire hunters. He thinks Ava is one."_

Damon's face paled, the blood draining from his face. He knew that Ava didn't have an ounce of vampire in her, but that wouldn't stop people from coming after her for having supernatural parents. The man that Cassandra was tailing...was he a hunter she'd recognized? He moved away from the bar, frantically looking for any inkling as to where she disappeared off to. He stepped out of the banquet hall, the now up-tempo music echoing down the empty, dark hallway. A flash of a black dress slipping through an almost closed door down the hall made him hasten his steps.

"I'll handle it." Those were the last words he said to Vanessa before pocketing the phone and throwing open the door. He practically jumped up the steps, two at a time, and as he drew closer to the door at the landing he could hear sounds of a struggle. He opened the door and quickly shut it behind him, the cool air from the rooftop hitting his cheeks. He followed his ears around a chimney stack to see his wife holding the man she'd followed against the brick. One hand was around his throat and the other was on the collar of his suit jacket, his feet dangling slightly above the ground.

"Let's try this again." Cassandra tightened her hold on the man. "Why were you taking pictures of my daughter?"

"Cass," Damon made his presence known, coming into their line of vision.

"Not now, darling. I'm in the middle of something." She cooed before picking up the man and slamming him back into the wall. "Talk. Now."

"I'm not telling you monsters anything." He spat and Cassandra smirked evilly. She dug her nails into the skin on his neck and the man gurgled loudly.

"Gee, whatever happened to "thinking before you do something?"" Damon's cheeky, mocking grin only made Cassandra's blood pressure climb higher.

"Oh, shut up!" She shouted, turning her head to look at him. In that moment, the man suddenly dropped, his hand going inside the pocket of his jacket. Before Cassandra could move away, Damon swooped in, gripping the man's wrist so hard that it snapped. The loaded gun fell from his hand and clanged onto the floor. Cassandra stood dumbfounded that she had been so slow to react and so naive to this man's intentions. That bullet could have injured or even killed her and because of Damon she was left standing unscathed.

"Okay, no more nice vampires." Damon twisted the man's arm further, cracking his elbow joint in two and he called out in agony. "Now, we will have no problem ripping out your spleen and feasting on it while you wiggle around in a pile of your own blood. So, I suggest that you start giving us some answers."

The man seemed to waver under Damon's harsh gaze and heavy threats. Not to mention his wrist and elbow were completely shattered. The vampire jerked the joint, making the man wince, tears prickling the corners of his eyes.

"T-Tripp...he wants us to hunt...vampires," he stammered.

"Tell us something we don't know or I'm breaking your other arm." Cassandra joined her husband and placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "Why do you have pictures of my daughter on your phone?"

"She's a...vampire like her p-parents." He said. "That's what Tripp...said."

Cassandra swallowed her next question, in fact, it quickly flew out of her brain like it was never meant to be there in the first place. Not only were these men cruel, but they were incredibly stupid as well. Vampirism was not a gene therefore it couldn't be passed from mother to child. Progeny were created from sires. That was the only way vampires were "born." Clearly these men Tripp were training had been educated incorrectly, but such is the way of the world. The hybrid then squeezed the man's shoulder so hard that it dislocated from it's joint, making him whimper and wince away from her. She reached inside his jacket pocket and took out his phone while still gripping his dislocated shoulder. She searched through it and saw that he had sent out a text message to another officer with the photos of Ava attached. Walking back to him, she held out the phone to him, it had been ringing the officer in question.

"Call them off," she demanded. "Say you were wrong about her or else we're throwing you off the roof of this building."

The officer glared up at her and Cassandra matched it, however he knew that she'd hold to promises. After all, one arm was broken and the other was dislocated. The phone line picked up and Damon and Cassandra waited in silence to see what the officer would do. If he was smart, he'd listen to them.

 _"Officer Shaun,"_ a man on the other end greeted him. _"Did you complete your mission?"_

Another agonizingly long moment of silence passed before Officer Shaun answered. "I'm afraid I didn't."

 _"What do you mean?"_

"We were given incorrect information about the child." He replied. "She isn't a vampire. Her mother on the other hand—"

Damon quickly bashed the officer in the side of the head, cutting off his statement. He knew better not to trust him, but they'd both given him a chance and he blew it. Cassandra could hear the voice on the other end of the phone asking what was going on. She threw the phone on the floor and stepped on it with her heel, silencing the officer on the line.

"Throw him over." She nodded to the edge of the building and Damon knew not to question her. He hauled his body up and dragged him to the side of the building. Cassandra grabbed his other arm and they both threw him to his death. His body let out a loud crunch and they both knew he wouldn't be blabbing their secrets anymore. She also tossed his phone over after him, further damaging it. It looked convincing enough. Tripp and his cronies would make up some story that the officer got drunk and went up for a cigarette, lost his balance and fell.

Besides, they were experts at covering up vampire killings.

* * *

 **Dear God, it's been a while! Hi everyone! Hope you liked this next chapter :) Let me know what you think by leaving a review please!**

* * *

 **NicoleR85:** Thanks for reviewing Nicole! Yeah, I felt Stefan needed an ass kicking in the last chapter. Hopefully he'll shape up soon ;)

 **BrittStar1199:** I am glad that Damon is home too! I can't wait for Kai to come into the picture because I have a feeling Cassandra won't be too happy to meet him hehe. Thank you for reviewing!

 **CarlyLynn:** Damon and Ava are adorable. I hoped that Damon isn't too out of character, but everyone has seen a softer side of him, so I think it comes across as believable when people are reading it. Stefan needed a sucker punch or two…or a lot. Maybe he'll find a way to make it up to Cassandra. Thanks for reviewing!

 **bfireworks5** **:** Thank you for reviewing! Cassandra definitely needed to kick Stefan's ass a little bit. I think Damon is already adjusting really well to fatherhood. I mean, he is changing diapers, LOL!

 **Tvd2014:** Wooo! Welcome back and thanks for catching up :) Did you mean Dassandra reunion? Yes! I cannot wait to bring Bonnie back! Hopefully soon ;) Thanks for reviewing!

 **SomebodyWhoCares:** Thank you for reviewing! Hmm, would you mean when she gets older and is going through some teenage drama? Or still as a little girl? I feel as though Damon would always try to do something to help Ava no matter what. Even if his ideas blow up in his face, it is still very much in his character to help the ones he loves.

 **vampangel25:** Hope you loved this one too! Thanks for reviewing!

 **SPARKELS77** **:** Thanks! Hope you liked this update :)

 **Cushy96** **:** Thank you for reviewing! Damon and Ava moments are definitely adorable and I plan on adding more throughout the show because Damon needs to catch up with his little girl.

 **Aisha:** Thank you for reviewing and your suggestion! I am not sure how to end the show. It is a little too early to tell. I have yet to plan the next season. We will have to see what the writers of TVD have in store for us ;)


	8. Fade Into You

**The Long Way Home**

 **Chapter 8: Fade Into You**

 **Beta:** **PrincessOfSilence (she's the absolute best!)**

 **Disclaimer:** **I own nothing of The Vampire Diaries. I only own my characters and my story.**

* * *

"Well, we were right about one thing," Cassandra mused before taking a sip from her coffee cup. Her eyes scanned the front page of the newspaper she was holding. The headline was splattered across it just like she knew it would be. Damon sat beside her and spooned another mouthful of food to Ava.

"Hmm?" He asked as he cleaned off his daughter's lips with the edge of the spoon. His wife tossed the newspaper on the table, so he could see the headline. He brought it closer to him and read it along with a few details from the story. He made a face, as if it was something that didn't faze him.

 _Officer Takes Fatal Fall off Roof at Whitmore Benefit_

"They know how to cover up vampire attacks," she replied. Damon flipped through the paper, not finding anything else of interest and went back to feeding Ava.

"It had to be done," he said, trying to justify their actions at the benefit. "No sense feeling guilty about it."

"I know," she sighed. "But I'm worried that we still have targets on our backs."

"Then we take care of them." He moved to wipe Ava's mouth with her bib and took it off her. He unlocked her from her highchair and cradled her on his hip. "Not gonna lie, you'd look cute with little fangs."

Ava giggled as if she knew what her father was talking about and clapped her hands. Cassandra stiffened at the remark and was going to rebut, but kept herself quiet. She had hoped to keep Ava away from vampires, hybrid, and witches at least until she was old enough to know about such things, but that was becoming increasing difficult because everyone she knew was some form of a supernatural race. She dreaded when that day would come when Ava was of age, but some comfort was brought to her knowing that Damon would be there to help her.

The oven gave a loud ding and Cassandra jumped up to open it. Caroline was having a Friendsgiving celebration and of course begged Cassandra to bake for the occasion. The fragrant scent of apple pie wafted through the kitchen and tickled Damon's nose. Cassandra set the pie aside on the cooling rack and continued about the kitchen, wiping down the cabinets and countertops. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Damon staring at her.

"What's wrong?" She asked him.

Damon smiled, but it faded into a frown. "Guilty conscious."

Cassandra raised her eyebrows and turned to face him. "Why?"

"Well, this is Ava's first Thanks-I mean, _Friendsgiving_ and I won't be here."

His wife frowned too, that had been dwelling on her mind since she heard Stefan, Damon, and Ric were trying to organize a trip to Portland, Oregon to try and find the Gemini coven. Originally these plans weren't even on the radar, but Damon received the surprise of his life last night when he took Cassandra home from the benefit. Vanessa, who picked up Ava from the party, had already tucked Ava into bed and was asleep herself when the couple tiptoed into the house. The hybrid was prepared to fall into bed, dress and all when she saw Ava's toys littering the living room floor. Sighing and knowing she would not want to do it tomorrow, she started cleaning them up. With a handful of dolls and and books, she opened up the toy chest to reveal a brown teddy bear nestled inside. Needless to say, Damon shouted in excitement so loudly that it nearly woke the whole house. Seeing Ms. Cuddles meant that Bonnie was still alive and it was up to them to find her.

"I know, Damon, but you have to find Bonnie." Cassandra spoke. "It's because of her that you're here with me. It's time to bring her home."

The vampire nodded, his eyes still showing turmoil, but he knew that Bonnie needed to get out of that prison world. Cassandra placed her hands on either side of his neck and gently traced over his tensed cheekbones. She pressed a soft kiss to his lips and then one along his jawbone. Damon leaned into her, nuzzling the tip of his nose in the crook of her neck. Cassandra felt a feather light touch along her forearm and when she peeked down at it, she saw Ava running her small fingers over her skin. Her eyes looked sad, obviously sensing the emotion from both of her parents and Cassandra swore that she could see her lip quiver.

Her mother combed Ava's wisps of hair and kissed the top of her head. Damon brought Ava closer, so that she was in between both of her parents. His other arm wound around Cassandra's waist, encircling his family and keeping it close to him. In the months he'd been gone, this was what he missed he most. Every night he'd dream of hugging his girls to him, but whenever he'd reach out, their smiling faces would fade away and he would wake up alone. That was not his reality anymore. He was home with both his wife and daughter with him; a reality he'd never tire of.

* * *

How on Earth does she do it?

Elena Gilbert often asked this question whenever it came to Caroline's over-the-top gatherings, but this one had to have been one of her more inventive ideas. Caroline had wanted to host a Friendsgiving celebration for everyone just so people would have a place to celebrate with hot food and good company. Naturally, she did not want to have this kind of affair out and she couldn't have it in her own home because of the border problem, so she decided to improvise by setting up her party inside her dorm. Sure, it was partly easy since pretty much everyone had gone home to spend time with their families, but Elena had to wonder how much time Caroline had put into decorating and preparing for the day.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Elena took more platters from the blonde vampire and placed them on the table, making sure they were meticulously placed or else she'd be asked to move them. She adjusted the table cloth and centerpieces and even pushed a wine glass back into place just as Caroline waltzed in. Everyone who was expected to come had shown up. Cassandra was changing Ava, Liam spoke with Jo, and Tyler and Liv...well, and she'd hardly call their exchange a pleasant one. Tyler was trying to get some conversation out of Liv, but all she did was ignore him and give him dirty glances.

"Hey," Cassandra sighed as she came back into the room empty handed.

"Where's Ava?" Elena asked.

"You mean Cranky? I had to put her down for a nap." The hybrid joked and looked upon the exchange between Liv and Tyler. "Hmm, I sure hope Ava doesn't grow up to be a moody teenager."

The blonde rolled her eyes and shot Cassandra a glance over her shoulder. "I heard that."

Cassandra waved teasingly, a wide smile upon her lips while Elena stepped in closer to her. "Come on, today is supposed to be a good day. Let's do it for Caroline."

"Well, I don't know why she had to be invited. As I recall she and her weirdo brother were trying to kill all of us and almost succeeded." The hybrid grumbled under her breath.

"Alright! If everyone could gather around the table at their assigned seats." Caroline clapped happily from her place at the head of the table. Elena and Cassandra went into the kitchen with Jo to help bring out more food for the table.

"Sorry I'm late." Luke ducked in and quickly found his seat.

Caroline cleared her throat and Luke gave her a look to say that he was sorry. "We will each share something that we are thankful for in 100 words or less."

"Uh, anyone want to see some embarrassing baby videos of Liv?" Luke asked, making his twin roll her eyes. Tyler seemed intrigued, so he moved to stand behind the twins. Liam stayed put, not wanting to get on Caroline's bad side, but her mood was already soured by Luke's tardiness.

"Oh! You know what?" Caroline said. "Now would actually be an excellent time just to shut down anything with an On/Off button."

Luke ignored Caroline's wishes, got up from his seat, and brought his phone over to Liv. He leaned it up against one of the stemmed glasses and pressed play on the video. Tyler stood behind Liv and smiled seeing a blonde haired little girl bouncing around on the screen.

"No, please. Let the food get cold," Caroline muttered sarcastically while pouring herself a tall glass of wine. "Whatever that is, is far more important."

Liv, Tyler, and Luke were much too enthralled in the movie playing to take Caroline's complaints to heart. On the screen were two small children, both with blonde hair and wide smiles. The children were moving about excitedly until a voice coming from off screen beckoned them to come closer and hold still.

 _"Happy Birthday!" A woman's voice spoke. "Wave to me!"_

 _Both children waved. "Hi, Josie!"_

 _"How old are you?" Josie asked._

 _"Four." The boy and girl replied simultaneously._

 _"How do you add that?" She asked them. "You guys want to do some numbers? Okay! What's one plus one?"_

 _"Two!" They said._

 _"Two plus two?"_

 _"Four!"_

 _"Nice!" Anyone could tell that Josie was beaming by the joy in her voice._

The video continued to play and Josie kept speaking to the two twins. Elena, Cassandra, and Jo then walked back into the dining room, each with bowls and placed them on the table. Cassandra smiled to herself hearing the children speaking on the video, however Jo was frozen, her gaze focused on Luke's phone.

"What are you watching?" Jo asked him.

"That kind of sounds like your voice." Elena noticed.

"That is my voice," Jo said and walked around the table to see the video playing on the phone. "I took that video 18 years ago at a birthday party for the twins."

Liv's sharp eyes snapped up from the screen and settled on Jo. "Oh, my God."

"Lukas and Olivia?" Jo asked tearfully.

"Jo as in _Josette_?" Luke murmured.

"Wait. So, you guys know each other?" Cassandra asked.

Jo nodded with fresh tears in her eyes. She looked between the two twins, in shock that she was seeing them again after years had passed. "I'm their sister."

* * *

"So, if you don't know each other, then how did you all just happen to end up at the same tiny liberal arts school?" Caroline asked curiously. Everyone was still reeling from the news that was dropped by Jo.

"We had a family friend here," Jo said. "Sheila Bennett."

"You knew Bonnie's Grams?" Elena was in shock. She hadn't heard that name in forever.

"She took me under her wing. She also helped my family put Kai away."

"Kai?" Cassandra spoke from perch against the wall. "You mean, Damon's Kai?"

Jo nodded. "As in our brother, my twin."

"There are two sets of twins in your family?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah, there were until my coven put Kai in a prison world," Luke said.

Liv's normal scowl turned into a deep frown. "Now there's just Luke and me."

"I'm sorry. Did you say 'coven'?" Liam suddenly stood up from his seat, a look of confusion on his face.

"Aw, crap," Cassandra muttered, palming her face. Needless to say, everyone had forgotten Liam was still in the room and was completely clueless about anything having to do with the supernatural world.

"Oh, my God...Liam." Elena blanched, her face flushing. "Is still _here_."

"Oven. She meant oven." Cassandra jumped in.

"Yeah, I heard oven." Tyler agreed.

"Yeah." Elena nodded.

"Oh, look! We don't have a wine opener on the table." Caroline discreetly moved the wine opener that had been on the table out of sight and waltzed over to Liam. She took him by the shoulders and let her eyes dilate. "Liam, you have a wine opener in your room. Why don't you get it? Take your time."

Liam left the room in a daze, shuffling slowly and when he was out of earshot. Caroline continued speaking. "As you were saying, you put Kai away?"

"Kai killed four of our brothers and sisters to make a point, but he was really targeting Lukas and Olivia."

"Why them?" Tyler wondered.

"Because in our coven, twins are in line to be leaders," Jo replied.

"Hence our lame-ass name...Gemini," Liv said.

"Kai wanted to be the leader, but that wasn't possible if Lukas and Olivia were alive. So, I protected them with magic, which just pissed him off more."

"I'm confused." Cassandra's nose wrinkled. "You guys are all witches. Shouldn't Kai have been able to use his own magic?"

Jo shook her head and wrung her hands together tightly. "My brother was born without his own magic. He can only draw it from others; it made him feel like a freak. My parents saw him acting out, isolating himself, and they realized that he'd never be capable of leading our coven, so they kept having children until another set of twins were born. Kai figured it out and he snapped."

* * *

"Let me get this straight. Jo and Kai are twins?" Damon exclaimed. He was perched near one of the white posts that held up the front porch of Jo's childhood home. Alaric and Stefan stood within earshot and sifted through some papers and photographs they'd found.

The trip to Portland had been uneventful, however first approaching the address and seeing an empty field was certainly trying on their nerves. Where the hell was the house?! During a verbal disagreement on the location of the house, Damon made an offhanded comment to Stefan about his hero hair and used Ms. Cuddles to hide behind. Annoyed by his brother's teasing, Stefan took the bear and dropkicked it away from them. Bonnie's magic caused the Parker house to become visible and the three of them were ready to head inside when Cassandra called to give them more information about the Parker family.

 _"Yep,"_ his wife replied as she paced back and forth in Caroline and Elena's dorm room. As much as she wanted to hear more about Kai, she needed to talk to Damon and see how their day was developing.

 _"Remember Luke and Liv? They're twins too, from the same family as Jo and Kai. They are all related and belong to the Gemini Coven."_

"This family tree keeps getting weirder and weirder," he groaned.

 _"And what's worse, Kai's own family were the ones who locked him in that prison world."_

"No wonder that little weasel holds a grudge," Damon muttered.

"But then how the hell did Bonnie and Damon land there?" Alaric asked from his place, his eyes still on the worn pictures in his hands.

Cassandra shrugged and sat on the edge of Elena's bed. _"I'm not sure. Could have been because Bonnie's Grams helped to put Kai away."_

"I highly doubt Grams would put us with a complete and total sociopath," Damon argued.

"I mean, Damon? Maybe. But not Bonnie." Stefan muttered.

"Very funny, brother." He glared.

"Maybe that was her only way of making sure you guys didn't disappear with The Other Side when it collapsed?" Ric theorized.

 _"Look, I hate to be the nagging wife, but please consider what you're doing."_ Cassandra pleaded. _"Kai killed his siblings because he could only siphon magic and he had no shot at being the leader of his coven, so he clearly has no moral compass. I'm worried that if any of you go back to get Bonnie then he'll try to escape."_

"To be fair, you were the one who told me to bring Bonnie home." Damon countered with a smirk.

 _"I know what I said, smart-ass."_ She grumbled. _"Just please be careful. I'm not losing you again."_

"We will." He nodded. "I told you I wasn't going anywhere, right?"

She smiled softly, biting her bottom lip. _"I love you."_

"I love you too." Damon whispered and leaned against the post of the porch. "How's my little girl doing?"

Cassandra cast a glance to Ava who was sleeping comfortably in her carrier. _"She's getting her beauty rest."_

"And how is Friendsgiving?"

 _"Well, now that's it's turned into a witchy family reunion...awkward."_ She sighed. _"Have you guys find anything useful there?"_

"Some old pictures and articles. Jo definitely lived here." The professor concluded, walking them over to Damon.

"What Ric really means to say is that we did not find the Ascendent." Damon tsked, paying no mind to the photos.

 _"It's gotta be there somewhere. Maybe it's buried on the grounds?"_ She suggested. _"Witches like to pull energy from the elements."_

"Wait, you're suggesting we just start digging up this whole place?" Stefan asked.

"Do you know how many acres this property is?" Ric glared. "We'd be here for years."

 _"I'm just trying to think of-"_ Her speech was suddenly cut off hearing another voice in the background. She tried to make sense of the words, but it was as if someone turned on a white noise machine in her ear.

 _"Damon?"_ She called into the speaker, but the noise on the other end only got louder. She pulled the phone away from her ear to shield herself, but the noise was so loud that it woke up Ava. Her tiny fists rubbed against her eyes and her mouth opened into a wailing cry. Cassandra dropped the phone onto the bed and gently rocked the carrier to soothe her.

"It's okay, sweetheart." She cooed, but Ava's cries continued to get louder.

Her mother scooped her up, cradling the baby to her chest and walked while bouncing her. Nothing worked. Ava's voice was becoming hoarse from her screaming. Cassandra sat back on the bed and moved Ava to lay down in her lap, but the very motion cause her to wriggle about and cry even more. The dorm lights flickered above them and Cassandra pressed her sobbing baby into her chest. Her eyes grew wider at the dimming and brightening lights that seemed to be in sync with Ava's screams. Cassandra watched in horror as Ava squirmed almost wanting to leave her mother's hold. Underneath Ava's sobs, she could still hear the noise from her phone because she had forgotten to end the call. With one arm around Ava, the other clicked off the phone call. Within seconds, Ava's cries quieted and so did her jostling body. The lights dimmed before going back up to their normal brightness and Cassandra remained still as she tried to make sense of what had just happened in the room. She leaned Ava away from her to see she had stopped crying, but was hiccupping every couple of seconds. Cassandra wiped away her daughter's tears and rubbed her back.

"Hey," Caroline's voice made Cassandra look up. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah...Ava was just a little upset," she replied, rocking her daughter. "You guys might have to check the breaker."

Caroline's nose wrinkled. "Huh?"

"The circuit breaker." She clarified. "The lights were flickering."

"No, they weren't." The blonde shook her head. Cassandra blanched. Did she imagine the lights? Did she imagine everything? Caroline must have noticed Cassandra's panic, so she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Are you feeling okay? You look like something is wrong."

Cassandra opened her mouth to explain what had happened with the phone call to Damon and the lights, and Ava, but a commotion from the main room made them both exchange confused glances before rushing out of the bedroom. They entered the dining area to see Jo on the floor coughing up blood while Liam and Elena were huddled over her. Elena had a phone pressed to her ear and she was frantically shouting to whomever was on the other end while Liam was trying to assess Jo's condition.

"What happened?" Cassandra asked worriedly.

Jo coughed, more blood spilling onto her dress. "I...I think my dad's trying to k-kill me."

"Oh God." She passed Ava to Caroline. "Hold her please."

"What the hell is she talking about? Her dad's trying to kill her?" Liam was trying to get answers, but everyone in the room was dodging his questions.

Cassandra knelt beside Jo and gripped her hand tightly. "You're gonna be okay."

Jo tried to speak, but all that came out of her was more blood. "Crap."

Elena hung up the phone. "How is she?"

"Her skin is hot." Cassandra mumbled to Elena. "She thinks this is her dad?"

"Liam, we need some ice." She turned to him.

"I'm not leaving Dr. Laughlin." He shook his head.

"But we need ice to cool her body temperature down."

"Elena, we should really be-"

"Dear God," Cassandra growled and grabbed Liam by his shoulders, a fire in her eyes. "Liam, I don't like when people have to repeat themselves, so I'm telling you this one time and one time only. Go. Get. Ice."

Elena watched as Liam straightened himself up and slowly trudge into the kitchen area. It reminded Elena of how a dog walks with its tail between its legs when it knows they've done something wrong. That kind of reaction did not come from compulsion. Liam genuinely felt bad for acting like a brat and did as Cassandra asked. The vampire looked to Cassandra who was keeping track of Jo's pulse. When Liam was completely out of sight, Elena moved closer to the hybrid.

"How did you do that?" She asked.

"Hmm?" Cassandra hummed, not lifting her eyes away from Jo.

"Make him do that without compelling him?"

"It's called being a mom." Jo whispered weakly. "Mine could look at me and I knew I was in trouble."

"Yeah, it's kind of like a new super-power I have." She winked at Elena who understood completely. While she was never a troublemaker, she knew that when her mother was serious; she was serious. She'd seen Jeremy get into trouble lots of times and more often than not, it was Miranda Gilbert's stern look that made Jeremy want to sulk away and never disappoint his mother again.

"Thank you...for not compelling him," she said quietly.

"Well, I figured if you want to keep bringing him around that he should know not to question you." The hybrid smirked just as Liam came back with ice cubes wrapped in a dishtowel.

"Thank you, Liam." Sweetness dripped from her voice, so much so that it made Liam uncomfortable.

"You're welcome, Mrs. Salvatore." He nodded, still keeping his eyes down. Cassandra pressed the ice against the back of Jo's neck and heard her sigh quietly. Elena squeezed Jo's hand as her eyes fell closed, but just under the skin she could feel Jo's pulse rate skyrocket.

Suddenly, Jo's body began to convulse wildly on the floor. Cassandra removed the ice and moved the chairs out of the way, so Jo would not injure herself while she gyrated. She then motioned to Caroline to leave the room with Ava, but the blonde was already gone.

"She's crashing!" Elena shouted worriedly.

"Dr. Laughlin, look at me." Liam snapped his fingers in front of her face.

"Jo, can you hear me? Jo!" The hybrid called her.

"Come on, Dr. Laughlin. Please wake up." He then looked to Elena. "Check for dilation."

Elena pulled open the lid of Jo's eye to reveal them to be blood red.

"Holy crap!" Liam gasped. "What the... what happened to her?"

"I don't know." Elena shook her head.

"Call 9-1-1. I'll start CPR." Liam pressed his hands to her chest while both woman remained stone still. Cassandra cast a glance to Elena who was conflicted on what to do. Deep down Elena knew what she had to do, but did she have the heart to do it? Dr. Laughlin would die if she hesitated a moment longer.

"Call 9-1-1, Elena. We need help. She's about to die!" He repeated.

"Liam..." She hushed, her eyes beginning to turn dark red. "Liam, there's not enough time."

Liam looked up just in time to see Elena bite into her own wrist with her sharp fangs. He backed away from Jo, fear flickering wildly in his eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Just leave her be." Cassandra spoke and Liam watched as the vampire crouched beside Jo and put her wrist to her lips.

"Elena, your face..."

"It's okay. My blood will heal her." She said and Liam sat by silently. A few long moments passed before a gasp left Jo's lips and her eyelids fluttered open. To everyone's relief, her eyes had returned to their normal chilling blue.

"Jo?" Elena whispered.

The doctor took a few steadying breaths and looked around at her surroundings before replying. "I'm okay."

"I'll get you some water." The vampire stood and left the room with Liam following after her.

"Here. Let me help you." Cassandra wrapped an arm around Jo's waist and carefully hoisted her onto her feet. She sat her up in a chair at the table and used a napkin to clean up her face.

Jo cast a sad look over the set table and shook her head. "I've...ruined Thanksgiving."

"Come on, now. No pity parties allowed." She dabbed a cloth napkin into a glass of water and wiped the bloodstained skin around her mouth clean.

"Where's Ava?" The doctor was suddenly aware that she had been coughing up blood and seizing in the presence of a baby.

"Caroline has her. It's okay." Cassandra soothed and continued cleaning the blood off of her.

"I didn't want her to see that."

"I know."

"I'm sorry about all of this."

"Jo, it's okay." Cassandra stressed.

"No...because of Kai and the Ascendant and my family..."

"Jo," Caroline stood in the doorway with a phone in her hand. "It's Ric."

Cassandra nodded and stood up from her seat. "I'll let you two talk."

The blonde vampire whispered to Cassandra that Ava was sleeping back in her carrier in hers and Elena's room. The hybrid smiled warmly at her and without another word, she snuck quietly into the bedroom. Just as Caroline said, Ava was snoring soundly and snuggled up in blankets. Cassandra sat on the bed and took up her phone and it felt heavy in her hands. Memories flashed before her eyes of Ava's cries and the flashing lights. She couldn't even begin to explain what had happened, nor did she want to think about it. With nimble fingers, she dialed Damon's number and held it to her ear. It rang for what seemed like ages until he finally picked up.

 _"We seemed to have a horrible connection before."_ His voice washed over her like a wave beating against the shoreline.

"I know." She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. "Are you okay?"

 _"I will be. Once I get home and get out of these clothes. The Portland airport is filthy."_ Damon quipped. He continued talking about their trip to Portland, but Cassandra wasn't listening. She looked down at Ava who was suckling on her binky as if nothing had happened earlier. Damon's voice faded into a garble and Cassandra bit her bottom lip as she held back tears. Something was wrong with their little girl and she wasn't sure if she could keep herself together to tell her husband.

"Damon-" she stopped him right in the middle of his story.

 _"Yeah, babe?"_

Cassandra swallowed heavily and ran her fingers over the tiny wisps of her daughter's hair. "It's Ava."

* * *

 **hexgirl.x:** Thanks so much for reviewing! Hehe, yes they are a badass supernatural couple ;)

 **NicoleR85:** Thank you Nicole! I'm glad you enjoyed reading the latest chapter.

 **Queen24824** **:** Yeah, season 8 was crazy! I can't wait to write it and I am even more excited for everyone to read it :) Thank you for reviewing!

 **DamonsSavior:** I know it has been a while since the last update. Thank you for reviewing and for being patient with me. I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter!

 **vampangel25:** Thank you so much for reviewing! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far.

 **BrittStar1199:** I love Ava too and it is not weird to want Kai to have playtime with her ;) Kai and Ava will definitely have some interesting interactions despite the interests of her parents.

 **Aisha:** Thank you for reviewing! I agree, Damon and Cassandra do need some more romantic moments. I will try to add them in as the story moves on.

 **bfireworks5:** Yeaahh, the problems are continuing to pop up. But don't worry, the gang always finds a way to solve them ;) Thank you for reviewing!

 **Shining Ruby:** Thank you very much for your kind words, my dear xoxo. Damon and Cassandra are a force to be reckoned with ;) I try my best to make my chapters multi-faceted, so my readers enjoy them. I hope you liked the latest chatper.

 **CarlyLynn:** Thank you so much for reviewing!

 **grapejuice101:** Thank you, thank you! There will be more Ava moments coming up :)

 **Cushy96:** Thanks so much for reviewing! Ava is certainly a cheeky little girl ;) Damon and Cassandra are total protective parents and it is fun to write them as such.


	9. I Alone

**The Long Way Home**

 **Chapter 9: I Alone**

 **Beta:** **PrincessOfSilence**

 **Disclaimer:** **I own nothing of The Vampire Diaries. I only own my characters and my story.**

* * *

 _Tick. Tock._

 _Tick. Tock._

 _Tick. Tock._

Cassandra's shifting eyes finally focused on the clock that was perched on the wall and wished she could smash it onto the newly waxed white floors for making that constant infernal noise. She fidgeted with her hands in her lap while her right leg bounced up and down as she sat in the most uncomfortable chair in her life. Looking around her, she saw others in the waiting room and found herself wondering how they managed to keep her composure while she was just about jumping out of her own skin.

 _This is awful,_ she thought. _The waiting alone will kill me._ She gave a sigh and worried her bottom lip between her teeth. After Damon practically flew home from Portland, he asked Cassandra to retell _exactly_ what had happened to Ava the night of Friendsgiving. The whole thing was odd from the start. The white noise on the phone, Ava's wailing, the power surge with the lights. Could it have all been a coincidence? Or was it something else at work? They both decided to take Ava to see Jo at Whitmore Hospital since they didn't feel confident speaking to another doctor about their daughter's supernatural parents and they hoped that Jo would have some answers for them. Cassandra reached for a magazine from the table across from her, put it in her lap and started to flip through the pages to distract her racing mind, but the words were a muddled mess on the page. Becoming frustrated, she closed it and tossed it onto the table, startling the other patients in the waiting room. It made Damon look up too from his own nervou hands that were twisting his daylight ring around on his finger. He saw her jaw twitch and leaned in closer to her.

"Hey," his voice broke through her already crumbling reserve. "It's gonna be okay."

She didn't answer him, so he brought the back of her hand up to his lips and pressed a kiss to it before holding it in his lap and gently caressing her skin. He could practically feel the nerves firing wildly from inside her. Her skin throbbed with the pulsing of her frantically beating heart. Her other hand was busy digging at her raw cuticles that she had relentlessly picked at since leaving Ava with the nurse.

Damon knew that this was killing her. She was up the night before pacing in their room. He tried to convince her that worrying would do no one any good, but she continued to do it anyway. He stayed up with her until she, in her delirious state, had fallen asleep on top of the covers. He brushed his fingers through her hair and watched her chest rise and fall with each sleeping breath. She slept through the night, but as soon as she woke up she was a bundle of nerves again. He hoped they wouldn't have to wait much longer to hold their healthy baby girl in their arms again.

"Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore," a tiny brunette nurse called from the doorway and both parents stood. "Dr. McLaughin will see you now."

The nurse led them to an exam room where both sat on pins and needles until Jo walked back in with Ava nestled in her arms. Cassandra immediately shot up to take her daughter and Jo handed her over quietly. Damon kissed his daughter's cheek and the baby cooed softly in her mother's arms. Jo pulled a rolling chair over and sat across from them, looking through Ava's test results.

"Well, we did every test in the book." Jo began and the hybrid felt herself grow queasy with anticipation. She could vaguely feel Damon's hand at her waist as her senses tuned out everything else except Jo's voice.

"And?" Cassandra asked worriedly.

"There were no signs of any brain abnormalities. Everything is completely normal."

"Are you sure?" Cassandra stressed.

"100%." Jo replied confidently. "All of her scans came back with no red flags. The same with her blood work. She's perfectly healthy."

Cassandra should have felt relieved hearing the news, but it only made her more uneasy. At least if the tests came back with something abnormal, there would be a clear course of action on what to do next. With a healthy report, Cassandra was left more in the dark than ever before. If Ava was perfectly fine, how did that explain the lights flickering as Ava cried in the dorm room?

"I don't understand." She shook her head. "I...I know what I saw. I'm not making this up."

"It could have been a coincidence..." The doctor suggested.

"Or?" Damon prodded, sensing there was more to her explanation.

Jo took a steadying breath. "Or...your daughter could be exhibiting some supernatural abilities."

Cassandra's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. "But how? Damon is a vampire and I am a hybrid. Vampirism doesn't pass through DNA and my werewolf trait was created because of a spell. I wasn't born one."

"I'm sorry." Jo frowned deeply. "I wish I knew all of the answers, but the good news is that Ava is healthy. You two should keep doing exactly what you've been doing."

"I don't understand. There has to be some kind of explanation." It was Cassandra's turn to frown.

"If anything changes, please give me a call." The doctor offered, but the hybrid had gone numb and unhearing to her pleas. She rose from her seat, cradling Ava tightly in her arms and exited the room without another word.

Damon toyed with the daylight ring on his finger. "I'm sorry, Jo. Cass has been a little high-strung since Thanksgiving."

"I don't blame her for being worried. If I had a child, I'd be beating down the door of every doctor to get to the bottom of it." Jo replied. "But Cassandra needs to take care of herself too. She can't take care of Ava if she isn't healthy."

"I'll make sure of that." Damon offered, his mind already forming an idea where he and Cassandra could take their minds off Ava.

* * *

"This isn't exactly what I had in mind when you said 'date night.'" Cassandra muttered, her voice nearly becoming lost in the sounds of the leaves on the forest floor crunching beneath her feet.

"Okay, so it's not the most _romantic_ idea I've ever had." Her husband admitted and guided her over an overgrown tree root.

"I'm just not comfortable leaving Vanessa with Ava." She sighed.

"Vanessa will be fine."

"But, what if Ava has another one of those episodes again?"

"Then Tinkerbell will call Dr. Laughlin and she'll make a house call."

"But-"

"Hey," Damon stopped her from walking further with a hand laced in hers. She slowly turned to face him, trepidation written all over her face.

"If you frown any deeper, you'll start to look like Stefan." The comment dropped her guard, making her laugh softly and move closer to him. At the sight of her smile, he did too.

"I know you're worried about Ava, but everything will be okay."

"How do you know?"

"I just know these things." He smirked, but was met with a roll of her eyes. "Ava is in the best possible hands right now and Jo can always step in if something happens."

Cassandra nodded, knowing that Damon was right in all accounts. "I just...I don't want to screw it up."

"Screw what up?" His eyebrows creased.

"Being a parent." Damon watched as his wife began to pace back and forth, worrying a path into the dirt beneath her boots. "I mean, we both had okay childhoods and we turned out fine, but I want Ava to have what we never had. Of course I don't want her to be spoiled either. No, she'll have to learn the value of hard work as she gets older. And god help us when she's old enough to go to school. Then we'll have other parents looking at us like we're bugs under a microscope about how we're raising our daughter and-"

"Woah, Cass!" Damon held up his hands, halting her rambling and pacing. "You're kinda jumping the gun here."

"What do you mean?" She asked him. "Don't you think about this stuff?"

Damon made a face and shrugged his shoulders. "I do, but I won't be sweating PTA meetings and bake sales for a while now."

Cassandra ran a hand through her hair, wishing she could whisk away her problems as easily as she moved her curls off her face. "I'm sorry. I just want to be a good mom."

Her husband walked to meet her, grasping her hands in his. "And what gave you any indication that you already weren't?"

A smile tickled the corners of her lips and she gave his hands a squeeze. "Well, I didn't do it alone. After all, I have a very good dad to help me."

"And sexy, don't forget sexy." He grinned wolfishly and pressed a kiss to her chilled lips. "I love you."

"And I love you. Sorry for my crazy rants." She admitted sheepishly.

"Nonsense. Although, I thought I lost you for a minute there." He winked and took her hand, continuing their walk through the woods.

"Fair enough. I mean, I'm worried about bake sales, but what we really should be worried about is when Ava is old enough to _date_."

Now it was Damon's turn to freeze in his place. _Date?!_ Cassandra tried to tug him along, but he didn't budge. The vampire pursed his lips and shook his head which was already filling up with the possibilities that Ava could bring home for a date and he was not happy. What if some snot nosed brat stomped on his daughter's heart? He'd obviously have to go kill the punk. That's what fathers do, right?

"Damon, you okay?"

" _Dating_?" He repeated. "No, no, no. Ava won't be dating anyone."

"Oh, don't be such a stiff." His wife pulled him along, quietly smirking to herself suddenly seeing Damon bent out of shape. Perhaps he'd finally understand her fears about being a parent after the dating bomb had been dropped.

"A shotgun. I'll answer the door with a shotgun if some brat tries to pick her up for a date." He muttered.

They walked and bickered about a half a mile more into the woods before meeting with Liv. She'd made arrangements to meet them and help to bring Bonnie back home. Deep down inside, the couple hoped to have Bonnie in the present by dinner time, but with Kai still wandering around in 1994, he could pose as a potential threat. Not to mention he could also find his way out of the prison world and go after Jo.

"Took you guys long enough." The witch greeted.

"Sorry. We were just talking about the joys of parenting." Damon grumbled.

"Fun." Liv rolled her eyes.

"Thank you for doing this, Liv." Cassandra said warmly.

"Don't worry about it. I needed an excuse to get out of that frat house. Way too much boy. Gross."

"Ew."

"You got everything?" The witch asked.

"Yep. Blood from a Bennett, Lucy to be exact, and an Ascendant from whatever the hell your last name is." Damon handed the items to her.

"So, this is the famous Ascendant?" Liv held it in her hands, turning it over to look at every angle.

"Yup."

"Surprised that Jo gave it up." The witch said. "It's the only thing keeping Kai locked in his prison. If he gets out, he's coming after Jo."

"Well, she knows how important Bonnie is to us." Cassandra said.

"So, I'm gonna need the moon to activate the Ascendant. It will be viable for about 8 hours, so once I send you over, the clock's ticking."

"How do we get back?"

Liv produced three vials from her jacket pocket. "Drink these."

Cassandra took them carefully in her palms. "Your blood?"

The witch nodded. "It will link you to me, so I can find you and bring you back. Give the third one to Bonnie, too."

Damon brought the vial up to his nose and sniffed it. He then clinked it against Cassandra's and they both drank it. The vampire's lips pursed and he wrinkled his nose at the taste.

"Mm, bitter. Wonder why." Liv glared before pouring the Bennett blood onto the Ascendant. She chanted the spell and Damon gripped Cassandra's hand as a bright white light began to encompass everything around them. Slowly, Liv disappeared and the two were back in the year 1994.

"It still looks the same." Cassandra mused as she looked around the forest.

"Wait till we get to the house." Damon said.

"Aww, damn. No remodeled kitchen." She grumbled.

"Don't worry. I'll get us back in our home, but for right now we need to find Bonnie."

"Then let's go."

"Just keep your eyes peeled. There's a pork rind-munching freak somewhere around here."

* * *

 _A_ _ **dhampir**_ _or living vampire is a creature that is the result of a union between a vampire and a human. This union was usually between male vampires and female humans, with stories of female vampires mating with male humans being rare. The term is sometimes spelled dhampyre, dhamphir, or dhampyr._

Bright green eyes looked up from the yellowed pages of a leather bound book and peered over at the sleeping baby that was in a carrier across from her. The blonde vampire wrinkled her nose pensively while giving Ava a once over and finally shook her head.

"Nah, you don't like a dhamphir. Besides, mommy and daddy had you long after they were both turned." Vanessa continued flipping through the pages of the book in front of her, careful to be extra gentle with them as per Ric's warning. History professors and their books, the vampire rolled her eyes at the very thought of Ric being especially touchy when she asked to borrow some reading material earlier that morning. She heard Ava's diagnosis and wasn't satisfied with Jo's explanation. Vanessa saw how upset Cassandra was when retelling what had happened over at the dorms and she knew there had to be something to explain it. She'd gotten through her fourth book and was quickly beginning to lose steam. Not a lot of information was recorded about the birth of children from supernatural parents mostly because it just didn't happen and the little that was to be found had to do with folklore from opposite ends of the world.

It also didn't help that Cassandra and Damon's relationship were as strange as they came. While Damon was a cut and dry vampire, Cassandra was a vampire at first, but was then turned into a hybrid by a spell that would change the molecular composition of her...

Vanessa suddenly found herself wishing she had paid more attention in chemistry class. Moving the pages about dhamphirs aside, she took to her phone to put in a more specific search. The keyboard clicked wildly and she found herself scrolling through endless reddit articles that pertained to the topic, but none of them actually helped. It actually confused her more than sorted out her predictions. It was a mix or fairytales, folklore and old wives tales and she could hardly make heads or tails of them.

"Can I get you anything else, miss?" The cheery voice of the waitress made Vanessa look up from her search and gently nudge her mug towards the edge of the table.

"I'll have some more tea, thanks." She replied and went back to her phone screen. It wasn't until Vanessa realized the waitress hadn't moved from her spot did she pick her head up again.

"Something wrong?"

"You know, this is _a bar_. You shouldn't have brought your baby here." She placed her hands on her hips defiantly.

Vanessa pursed her lips, raised an eyebrow and put her phone on the surface of the table in an effort to carefully chose her words when speaking. "Number one: She's not my baby. Number two: I'd hardly call this establishment a bar considering the students who come here can't even drink because you can't serve people under the legal age. And number three: Why am I am even bothering to explain myself to you?"

"She's not supposed to be here." The girl protested.

The vampire stood slowly, keeping eye contact with the waitress and picked up her mug. "This is none of your business, so here is what you're going to do. You're gonna take this mug, march yourself into the kitchen, and make me a mug of tea. You also won't be bothering me for the rest of the time that I'm here. Got it?"

The waitress's eyes glazed over and she nodded wordlessly, taking the mug and marched herself back into the kitchen. Vanessa then slid back into her seat with a deep sigh and went back to pouring over the pile of books in front of her. She took a thicker one off the top, opened it, and went back to work. She was so deep into reading about werewolf packs that she hadn't noticed the waitress bring back her tea or the young man that was now standing at the edge of her table.

"Some light reading material?" He asked her with some sarcasm in his voice."

"Mmhmm," the vampire hummed, not bothering to look up at him. She'd hoped that if she ignored him long enough that he'd go away.

Sadly, he didn't.

After a long and painful thirty seconds of awkward silence, Vanessa peered up at the young man through her eyelashes. He stood there, rocking back and forth on his heels with his hands in his pockets. He was giving her a small smile with a condescending aura that Vanessa wanted to smack right off his baby face. His dark eyes matched his dark hair and unbeknownst to Vanessa, he held even darker intentions.

"Can I help you?" She finally asked after her careful analysis of the stranger.

"Actually, you could. I'm new to the area and I'm trying to get my bearings."

"Look, I'm really not interested." Vanessa said. As if on cue, Ava began waking up in her carrier. She gave a big yawn and stretched her little body out, quickly becoming frustrated with the fact that she had woken up. Vanessa grabbed a bottle from the diaper bag, setting it on the table before getting up, bypassing the young man and unstrapping Ava. As she took the baby onto her hip and slid herself back into her seat, her elbow knocked into the bottle and nearly fell to the floor if it weren't for the quick hands of the newcomer.

"Heh, and normally I'm a butterfingers." He chuckled and handed Vanessa the bottle.

"Thanks." She took it back and pressed it passed Ava's lips. "There you go, sweetheart."

"She's really cute." He offered and Vanessa didn't reply, becoming more focused on Ava. "Hey, uhm, I'm sorry. I never introduced myself. How rude."

As much as Vanessa didn't want to give this kid a second glance, she silently prayed that maybe a little bit of attention would be enough to bait this kid. She tore her gaze from Ava who was suckling at the bottle happily and Vanessa was greeted by that same smile that made her uneasy in the first place.

"I'm Kai."

* * *

"Bonnie! Bonnie!"

"Yo, Witchy! We're here for your rescue. Let's skiddadle!"

Husband and wife entered the boarding house for the second time today, but like the first time they entered, they were greeted with silence. Damon closed the door behind them and they traipsed through the rooms on the ground floor before zooming in and out of the bedrooms and meeting back in the foyer. Bonnie was nowhere to be found and it was beginning to unnerve the pair. When they first stepped into the prison world, it was a short walk from the woods into suburbia where they saw Elena's house, pre-incineration along with the town square which hadn't changed at all. They arrived at the boarding house, thinking their trip to 1994 would be over and done with, but there was no Bonnie. Damon suggested that she could have gone grocery shopping, but once again, no Bonnie.

"She's not here." Cassandra sighed.

"How could that be? Where else could she possibly go?"

"I don't know."

"We checked the grocery store. That's the only other place we've gone while we were stuck in this suck-fest."

"Maybe we should wait here. She could have gone elsewhere." His wife suggested.

"She could have, but after being with Bonnie for four months I've learned that she is super strict when it comes to her routines." He said. "For example, every Wednesday we would go to the store to get food to restock the fridge and then come home to fill out a crossword puzzle. Last time I checked, it's Wednesday and at this time on a Wednesday she'd be pestering me about her crossword puzzle."

"Point taken." Cassandra said. Her eyes scanned the interior of the house, a sense of nostalgia and melancholy gripping her. Most of the house looked the same with little modern touches here and there that were done. It even smelled the same and felt the same. She hadn't thought about the boarding house a lot in the four months she'd been living on her own, but seeing it in all it's splendor now was quite a sight to behold. She then walked over to the fireplace, running the tips of her fingers along the mantel. She and Damon had many heart to hearts in front of the crackling flames. It had seen joy, heartbreak, laughter, and tears.

"I miss home." She said more to herself than Damon. It hurt that she and Damon couldn't go back to the place that they called home for nearly a hundred years.

"I do too." He was standing behind her now. His arms wrapped around her waist and his chin rested atop her shoulder. For a little while, they closed their eyes and rocked back and forth, basking in the ambiance of their old home, secretly wishing they were there in that moment.

 _Bang._

They both jumped and untangled from one another. Listening closely, the echo of the sound traveled from the basement up to their eardrums. With Cassandra leading the way, they quickly and quietly descended the staircase, hoping that Bonnie was down there and not some intruder. Rounding the corner, they were greeted by someone they were not expecting.

"Elena?" Cassandra's voice made the brunette vampire turn around and wave sheepishly.

"Oh, uh...hey guys." The vampire smiled and tried to step in front of the broken bottle of wine that was soaking into the earth.

"You know that's a _really_ expensive bottle of wine you've just wasted." Damon tsked at her.

"What bottle?" Elena tilted her head to the side and tried to discreetly kick the broken shards farther behind her. Damon rolled his eyes and tried to tell himself that this was 1994 and he knew that same bottle existed in the cellar in present time if Elena hadn't broken it already.

"What are you doing here?" Cassandra asked her.

"I heard you were going to look for Bonnie, so I wanted to come with you." She explained. "She's my friend too."

"We haven't seen Bonnie." The hybrid admitted.

Elena swallowed thickly. "Me neither."

The trio decided it was best to regroup upstairs. Elena plopped down on a couch while Damon's fingers flitted over the assortment of booze in the cabinet and Cassandra stayed over by the fireplace, finding comfort in it. Damon handed a glass to Elena which she took and offered to his wife, but she declined it with a shake of her head. Elena downed the entire glass in one shot and handed it back to Damon, silently asking for a refill which he did.

"I just don't understand." She said after taking another long sip. "Where is Bonnie? She should be here."

"We know, Elena." Cassandra spoke. "Maybe it's just better to wait here for her. She could have gone out elsewhere."

"I'm telling you, Bonnie and her routines." Damon muttered into his glass.

"And I'm telling you that maybe, just maybe, Bonnie wanted to break her routine for the day." His wife argued.

The brunette vampire's eyes switched between the seemingly unnerved couple. "Damon, you don't think that Kai..."

"Let's not jump to depressing conclusions yet, okay?"

"Okay..." she nodded. As she lifted the glass to her lips again, she found a dark spot on one of the couch pillows that she knew did not belong there. Placing her glass on the table, she picked up the pillow and sniffed it.

Blood.

"Oh, my god. Damon. This is blood."

"And we're jumping." He then turned to grab a cordless phone from it's charging dock on one of the bookshelves.

"What are you doing?" Elena asked.

"If Kai has Bonnie, we need to talk."

"So, you're gonna call him?"

"I'm gonna page him actually." He held the phone up to his ear to listen for a dial tone while Elena stared up at him blankly.

"Oh, I forgot." Cassandra said. "You were two when pagers were around."

"Pagers are an ancient form of telecommunication." Her husband added with a smirk.

"I know what a pager is." Elena turned her nose up at him, but her expression quickly sobered seeing Damon's fingers press into the keypad. "How does it work?"

"We dial jackass's number 555-HIYA-KAI."

"That's his phone number?" Cassandra crossed her arms over her chest while her husband dialed. "Jeez, this kid is lame."

"You're telling me. Try being stuck with him." Damon said while dialing the number to the boarding house. "Then, we leave our number and hang up."

"That's it? Now what?" Elena asked him.

"And now we sit by the phone like a 13-year-old girl and wait."

* * *

"So, are you on Twitter? You should totally follow me. My username is Cobrakai1972. You know, like from _The Karate Kid_?" Kai excitedly scrolled through the newsfeed on his phone. "Hey, did you know you could follow celebrities on Twitter? They post the dumbest things."

"Nah, I don't really have time for Twitter." Vanessa said as she tilted the bottle on a higher angle. Ava was contently enjoying her bottle, her eyes never leaving Kai's form even with the appearance of the compelled waitress or the other noise in the bar. Vanessa occasionally rocked her back and forth, hoping to get her to sleep again before bringing her into the car to head home.

"For the record, I saw the waitress talk to you." He mentioned as he watched her walk away from the table. "It was uncalled for."

"Thanks, but I'm a big girl. I handled her." Vanessa smirked.

Kai's smirk matched hers, almost deviously so. "You, uh, take care of her on your own?"

The blonde vampire shook her head. "No, I'm just the babysitter."

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry. I'm sure you get that a lot." He said sheepishly.

"Sometimes." She shrugged and shifted Ava to rest by her shoulder to burp her. "I don't mind it so much and she's not a fussy baby at all."

Vanessa continued to burp Ava until she was finished, making sure to rest the bottle far away from the edge of the table to avoid having a repeat of what happened earlier. Kai was a strange character, but Vanessa saw some redeeming qualities about him. She just still couldn't shake a suspicion that something about him just wasn't right. Sure, he was attentive and talkative, _very_ talkative, but something was off and Vanessa just couldn't figure out what.

Ava's gentle squeal made Vanessa turn and smile at Liv who had just come into the bar. The vampire thought it was comical Ava took a liking to the moody teen considering Liv acted as though she wanted nothing to do with children. She gave the teen a subtle wave which was returned with a head nod while Ava received the tiniest smile Liv could muster. Kai turned too as Liv walked past and Vanessa took this momentary distraction as her chance to leave.

"Hey, Kai. It's been a lot of fun, but I really need to be getting this one home." Vanessa stood from the booth and slung the diaper bag over her shoulder. Kai then moved out of his side of the seats, allowing her to strap Ava securely in her travel seat.

"Alright, I'll see you around then." He smiled at the pair and bounced on his heels before eyeing the bar. "Think they'll serve me? I mean, I have been known to have a baby face."

"You never know unless you try." She chuckled.

"Cool. I'll see you." He turned on his heel and headed for the bar. Vanessa then began to pack the large books she'd taken with her to research into her bag, but her phone rang loudly from the outer most pocket. She looked at the unfamiliar number oddly and debated on answering it, but when she finally did she was smiling ear to ear.

 _"I admit, I wanted to see if this would work. And I was right as usual."_ Cassandra was giggling on the other line and Vanessa could hear faint grumbling in the background. _"Babe, you owe me five dollars!"_

"Hey! What phone are you calling me from?" She asked. "I didn't recognize the number, so I almost didn't answer."

 _"The boarding house phone."_ She replied.

"..." Vanessa gave the declaration a thought. "I'm confused."

 _"Long story short, Damon, Elena and I are time travelers now. Liv was able to bring us back to 1994, so we could grab Bonnie."_

"I still don't get it, but I'm gonna roll with it considering I was a baby in 1994."

* * *

"Who cares. I'm now five dollars richer." Cassandra smirked at her husband who was now digging through his wallet and grumbling how he should really stop doubting his wife.

 _"Hey, if Damon is handing out money then I do need to be reimbursed from my latest trip to the supermarket."_ Vanessa chuckled.

"Cool it, Tinkerbell. I'm not made of money." The disgruntled vampire fished a five dollar bill from his wallet and placed it in his wife's open, outstretched hand.

"Thank you." She sang and pocketed the money inside her jeans.

 _"Any sign of her?"_ Vanessa asked.

"Sadly no. We've looked everywhere." She admitted.

 _"She'll come around, I'm sure."_ Cassandra heard Vanessa huffing as she threw her bags of her shoulders and took Ava's carrier in tow. _"Man, what a day. I was in the bar on Whitmore campus. I had gone to the library to take out some books about supernaturals and children."_

"Did you find anything interesting?" Damon piped up.

 _"Interesting, yes. Pertaining to your situation, no."_ The faces of both husband and wife fell, another dead end. Elena saw it and reached over to grab Cassandra's hand that was resting on her thigh. She squeezed gently and rubbed her thumb across the back of it.

 _"But I still have more reading to do. I couldn't read all of the books because some weirdo came to sit with me at the bar."_ She continued and Cassandra could hear the distinct clicking of Ava's carrier being snapped into place.

"Oh?" Cassandra questioned.

 _"Yeah, total weirdo. Had a weird name too. Who names their kid Kai?"_

If they were humans, the hearts of all three vampires in the room would have come to a screeching halt. Cassandra sat up rigidly from her reclined position, hoping that there was a bad connection on the phone line and she didn't really hear what she thought she'd heard. Damon was now kneeling before his wife, eager to catch more of the conversation while Elena was leaned forward as well, her hand still tightly gripping Cassandra's. This couldn't be happening. There was no way this possible. How could Kai have gotten out? Unless...

"Vanessa, where are you right now?"

* * *

"I'm just getting in the car." The blonde vampire closed Ava's car door and climbed into the front seat of Cassandra's Jeep with the phone still attached to her ear. She adjusted the rear-view mirror to check on Ava and the road behind her.

 _"Where is Ava?"_ Damon's concerned voice reached her ears.

"In the backseat." She replied.

 _"Listen to me, Vanessa. Kai is dangerous. He's the one that was in the prison world with Damon and Bonnie. He's a psychopath."_ Cassandra rattled off.

"What? That can't be. How did he manage to get out while Bonnie-"

 _"I don't know, but you have to get as far away from there as possible!"_

"Okay, I'm getting us home right now." Vanessa's nerves were suddenly firing wildly like bullets from the chamber of a gun. She swiveled her head, making sure the coast was clear before putting the car in reverse, but a knock at the window made her nearly come out of her skin. She whipped around and had to stifle a scream as a gasp at the sight of who was only separated by the glass of the car window.

It was Kai.

Vanessa kept the phone at her ear and left the car in reverse. If she had to make a break for it, she'd roll over every car in the parking lot to make her getaway. She could hear Cassandra, Damon, and Elena shouting on the other line at her gasp and sudden silence, but she quietly told them to hold before ending the call. She was almost ready to continue leaving when Kai held up Ava's bottle. Vanessa was now kicking herself for not being more careful when gathering Ava's things from the table. She gave him a thankful smile and kept her eyes on him while she slowly rolled down the window. Part of her screamed in protest at her actions, but if she remained calm, maybe Kai wouldn't suspect anything.

"Hey, you forgot this." He handed her the bottle and she took it, placing it in the cup holder.

"Thanks." She tried to widen her smile, but she was terrified on the inside. If Kai was as bad as they said he was, she and Ava were in a lot of trouble.

"You okay?" He asked her.

Vanessa swallowed her fear and chuckled nervously. "Yeah, you just scared me, that's all. That's what I get for talking on the phone while driving."

"Oh, yeah." He nodded and peeked in the backseat through the front window. Vanessa could feel her teeth sharpen, her protective instincts quickly coming to the surface.

"Out like a light. Man, that kid can sleep anywhere." He laughed and Vanessa's hands tightened on the steering wheel.

"Thanks again for the bottle." The vampire said and that tore his eyes away from the sleeping baby in the backseat.

"Oh, it's no problem. I'll see you around." He waved at her and headed back towards the bar. Vanessa breathed a sigh of relief, tears prickling in her eyes from the rush of adrenaline that was still racking her body. She and Ava could have been in grave danger and she was just happy to be okay. She closed the window, checked on Ava one more time and watched the door to the Whitmore bar close behind Kai before flooring the car in reverse and speeding out of the parking lot.

* * *

"Cass! Cass, wait up!" Damon called as he rushed after his frantic wife. Shortly after the call from Vanessa had been disconnected, Cassandra tossed the phone into Elena's hands and zoomed out of the front door of the boarding house. Clutched in her fist was the vial of Liv's blood that would take her back to present time.

"I have to go back. _We_ have to go back." She shouted over her shoulder as the leaves fluttered around her feet. Damon zoomed ahead of her, grabbing her shoulders and pressing her back against a tree trunk.

"Let me go, Damon!" She fought against him.

"You have to calm down!" He narrowed his gaze at her.

"I can't! That psycho is out there and was just with Vanessa and our daughter!"

"Listen to me, you have to calm down. If we leave now, Elena is left her by herself with only one vial of blood that was meant for Bonnie. That means either Elena or Bonnie will be left her all alone." He explained.

"But, Damon we can't just leave Ava. Not with Kai around." She protested.

"Then you go. I'll stay here with Elena until Bonnie gets here."

"No! I'm not leaving you here. You're coming back with me."

"You can get Liv to pull me out. Or I can split a vial with Elena or Bonnie." He suggested.

Cassandra shoved him away roughly with tears flowing freely down her cheeks. "I lost you once, Damon. I _refuse_ to lose you again. I will not relive the past four months! It's not fair to me and it's not fair to our daughter!"

Damon took her words with the hard of a big, chalky pill. The ever looming feeling of guilt hovered over him like a dark rain cloud, threatening to crush on top of his already sinking shoulders. His troubled stare found the equally strained gaze of his wife. She was shaking with anger and crying with despair, emotions he never wanted to see on her especially if they were directed towards him. Seeing her this upset brought him back to the night where said he final goodbyes and even then he hated that his last glimpses of her were spent in complete and utter sadness. He took a tentative step her way and when she didn't back away, he took some more until she was enveloped in his arms.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He hugged her tightly, hoping to extract those emotions and send them far away from her. She hugged him back and cried hot tears into his shoulder.

"I promise I won't ever leave you again." He whispered into her hair, rocking her gently back and forth. Her tremors calmed, but her grip on him didn't falter. She was afraid, truly afraid of losing him again and he hated himself for bringing that deep rooted fear to the surface.

"Hey...guys?" Damon was the only one to turn hearing Elena's voice on the wind. He saw her standing in the doorway of the house with the phone to her ear. He rubbed his hands along his wife's arms and she begrudgingly let go to wipe her tears. Damon helped dry her cheeks and grabbed her hand to lead her back inside the boarding house. As they approached the door, Elena smiled upon them and held the phone up.

"That was Bonnie."

* * *

"So, Bonnie _is_ coming?" Damon asked her.

Elena nodded. "She's in Portland right now. Kai kidnapped her and left her there."

"He probably took some of her blood before bidding her adieu." He grumbled.

"Exactly." The vampire said. "She hot-wired a car and is driving from Portland to Mystic Falls."

Damon did the math in his head. "Liv is pulling us out in seven hours."

"I know. She'll make it here. I know she will." Elena smiled, happy that her friend was finally coming home, but the somber look on Damon's face made her falter.

"You two alright?"

At first Damon didn't answer her. He was still mulling over what had happened earlier. "You know, I sometimes forget she had to live without me for four months. I forget what she had to go through."

Elena's once happy expression was now crestfallen. "You have to give her some time to adjust to having you back again."

"Some days it's easy and other days...like today..." he trailed off, his fingers toying with his daylight ring. "I never want to see her that upset again, Elena."

"I know you don't." She put her hand over his fidgeting ones. Damon smiled at her and gave his now still hands a reassuring squeeze. "Come on, let's give her some space and make something to eat."

They both stood and Damon cast one look over his shoulder to see Cassandra standing by the window of the room next door. She'd been on the phone with Vanessa checking in while Elena explained to him about Bonnie.

"You coming?" Elena asked in the doorway of the kitchen.

Damon smirked and adjusted his leather jacket. "Sure. I know a killer recipe for blueberry pancakes."

* * *

"You're sure the doors are locked? And the windows too?" Cassandra asked.

 _"Yes, Cassandra. Everything is secured."_ Vanessa replied and closed the curtain in the front windows of the house. _"It's been quiet since we got home. No cars driving slowly in front of the house and no weirdos walking by either."_

The hybrid paced by the bay window in the parlor, the phone pressed tightly to her ear. "And how is Ava?"

Vanessa looked over her shoulder and smiled at the baby playing with blocks in front of the TV. _"She's great. I'm sorry about earlier. I just wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible."_

"I know you were. I just freaked out. Damon did too, but he does a better job of keeping it under control than I do." She admitted sheepishly.

 _"Nothing to be ashamed of. It's your kid. I'd be freaking out too."_ She moved away from the window and sat beside Ava, quietly watching her play. _"But seriously, we're fine. We'll be here when you get back. Worry about getting Bonnie back, so she can meet Ava."_

Cassandra smiled at that and leaned her forehead against the wooden window pane. "Okay. Please call us here if you need anything."

 _"I will. Try to relax, mama."_ Vanessa and Cassandra bid each other goodbye and the latter heaved a sigh of relief. She put the phone down in its place where Damon had grabbed it from earlier and went to mosey on into the kitchen, but was suddenly stopped by one of the cabinet doors being slightly ajar. She opened it and there on the shelf sat a camcorder that was very familiar to her.

"Oh wow..." she gaped. She hadn't seen it in years and it brought a smile to her face to hold it in her hands. She'd forgotten how heavy it was, but not how the buttons felt beneath her fingertips. A camcorder was still a fairly new invention, but the invention of iPhones had made it an obsolete piece of technology in no time. She clicked the rewind button and felt the gears inside the machine move. She had recorded a lot on the camcorder and wanted to see some of those pieces of her memories that had been long forgotten.

The tape clicked and Cassandra pressed down on the play button. The screen was black for a few moments before a picture came onto the display. The voices of two women could be heard while the image of the fireplace in the boarding house could be seen crookedly.

 _"Is it on?"_

 _"I think so."_

 _"How do you know?"_

 _"The little red light is blinking."_

 _"Where? I don't see it."_

 _"Right there."_

One voice was attached to Gail who happily waltzed on screen from behind the camera. Cassandra's heart ached seeing her friend so vital and happy. This video must have been taken before she found out she and Zach were going to be expecting a baby. Cassandra then watched Gail wave with a bright smile and the voice of the other girl giggled. Gail leaned on the mantel above the fireplace and danced her arm before it, showing it off as if it was a prize on a gameshow.

 _"And we have our huge fireplace."_ _She said in a sultry voice._ _"It's great for winter nights which are plentiful in Mystic Falls."_

Again the voice giggled before adjusting the camera and angling it to fit her and Gail in the frame. A bright eyed Cassandra graced the screen with a wide smile and bubbly aura. She also waved with her free hand and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. The hybrid rolled her eyes at her goofy antics, slightly embarrassed to be seeing herself on film.

 _"This is Cassandra and Gail reporting to you from the Salvatore boarding house. We'll be bringing you coverage from the residents of this lavish abode." She announced. The camera was then pointed up towards the ceiling and their voices could be heard asking about how to turn the device off before the screen went black._

 _The next frame started off blurry, but quickly came into focus on a brooding Stefan who was writing in his diary inside his room. He hadn't noticed the owner of the camcorder coming closer to him since his back was facing the doorframe and he was sitting at his desk. Once she was close enough, the vampire turned to look over his shoulder gave Cassandra a quick smile while keeping his hand over the page he had just written._

 _"Stefan, say hi!" She grinned and waved._

 _"What is that thing?" His face got closer to the screen and she backed away._

 _"Just say hi!" She repeated and Stefan waved with an awkward smile._

 _"Hi."_

 _"Whatcha doin'?"_

 _"Nothing, I'm just-" He was stopped by Cassandra swiping his journal off his desk and zooming through the house with it._

 _"Cassandra, give it back!" Stefan shouted over the shaky video and his friend's constant giggles. That continued for about thirty more seconds until Cassandra smacked into someone and the camcorder and journal fell from her hands. She gasped, but whoever had hit into her had the quicker reflexes. After a few moments of shaking, the camcorder lens became clear and it revealed Damon to be the one who had stopped Cassandra in her tracks, literally. He examined the camcorder with beady eyes, one of them coming closer to the lens and Cassandra's voice could be heard in the background._

" _Give it back. I'm using that."_

" _No way, Cass." Stefan interjected, finally having caught up to her and retrieved his journal._

" _In a shocking turn of events, I'd have to agree with my brother." Damon replied. "You've been bugging everyone in this house for months with this thing."_

" _Have not." She denied and jumped for the camcorder, but Damon held it up above her head._

" _Whoops, sorry. I guess you can't reach it from down there." He chuckled._

" _Give. It. Back." She hissed and when Damon didn't budge, she decided to make him. She lunged at him, knocking him and the camcorder to the ground. The two of them wrestled on the floor, the camcorder just out of their reach until Stefan swiped it and ran off._

" _You son of a b—"_

Cassandra's voice and the video quickly cut off and came back on again to reveal an image of herself much to Cassandra's surprise. She was sitting in room on her bed after just getting out of the shower. Her hair was wrapped up in a towel and an oversized concert t-shirt covered most of her body. She was so concentrated on applying nail polish to her nails, that she was unaware of the person holding the camera standing in the doorframe. The camera then moved from her image to one of a very sneaky and smirking Damon who simply held a finger to his lips before focusing the image back on Cassandra and barging into her room.

" _Knock knock!" He chirped._

" _Hey!" The woman on the bed jumped up._

" _Oh, how the tables have turned." Damon chuckled. "Let's see how you like being videotaped."_

" _Come on, I was just having fun." She glared at him while trying to cover up her face with her hands._

 _Damon then turned the camera to face himself and Cassandra, getting them both into the frame. "So, Cassandra, how does it feel being roomies with the sexiest vampire alive?"_

" _You're so vain." She grumbled._

" _Ah, ah. You gotta answer the question." He tsked at her._

 _Cassandra crossed her arms over her chest in defiance and remained silent for a moment before a lopsided grin pulled at the corner of her lips._

" _Actually, it's been nice. We haven't seen each other in a decade or so, and I'm liking that Damon is trying to make amends with his brother."_

 _Her answer caught him by surprise as did most things she did. Damon's expression fell from one of confidence to one of vulnerability and he turned the camera to only face her before asking another question._

Cassandra had tuned the rest of the video out, knowing that Damon's good behavior wouldn't last for very much longer after that night. In just about a month, he had screwed up with Stefan, killed Gail and skipped town without a goodbye. That would be the last time she saw Damon until she set foot in Mystic Falls almost more than a decade later with much convincing from to help them with their Katherine problem. The camcorder suddenly felt so heavy in her hands, not wanting to remember Damon in the image of being a senseless killer. Just as she was going to shut the device down, the screen went black for a few long moments before displaying her husband in present time as of four months ago. His face looked haggard and his hair was a mess.

 _"Well, I am officially in hell." He announced sadly with wide, empty eyes. "This place is my own personal hell."_

Cassnadra's hands on the camcorder tightened in anticipation of hearing more, but it was suddenly yanked from her hands by Damon who must have waltzed into the room without her knowing. She looked up at him expectantly and held out her hands for the camcorder, but he placed it behind his back.

"Hey, I was watching that." She said.

Damon tilted his head at her, held up the device, and acted as though he wasn't watching her watch the videos. "Oh, this? That was just my audition tape for _The Real World: London._ Fingers crossed, I think I'm finally gonna make it."

Cassandra pursed her lips at him and placed her hands on her hips. "Admit it, you did some soul searching while you were gone."

Her husband didn't answer yes or no to her question. Instead he looked down at the camcorder in his hands. "Those videos were the closest thing I had to seeing you and hearing your voice."

She put her hands over his, taking the camcorder and looking into his eyes. "But I'm here now."

"I know." He smiled and bent down to softly kiss her lips. "I love you."

"I love you too, but..." she whispered against his lips and peeked at him through her eyelashes. "If you want this camcorder, you'll have to catch me."

Within seconds she zoomed out of the front door and Damon was right behind her. They rushed past the tall trees and Cassandra was in the lead until she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Something didn't feel right. She let the camcorder drop from her hands and looked around at the quickly darkening sky above her. Just as Damon and Elena joined her the winds had picked up, swirling the leaves around them.

"You feel that?" She asked them.

"Yeah..." Damon answered.

"No, no, no. It's too soon." Elena cried over the howling wind.

In the blink of an eye they were in the forest where Liv had left them in present time. The camcorder was gone from their feet and Liv and Tyler were standing before them. Elena charged up to Liv, demanding to be sent back, but the witch explained that Kai had arrived in Mystic Falls and was taking her magic. The two argued back and forth about Bonnie until a new figure had stepped into view. Liv's face paled and Tyler protectively stepped in front of her while Damon did the same to Cassandra and Elena.

"Wait, are you guys talking about Bonnie Bennett? Because honestly, I didn't think she was all that great." He grinned evilly before using his magic to crush the Ascendant against the trunk of a tree.

"No!" Elena shouted tearfully.

"Let's get out of here." Tyler took Liv by the hand and yanked her back through the trees in hopes of outrunning Kai.

"I am gonna enjoy the hell out of this." Damon sped towards Kai, but was stopped by an excruciating pain shooting up his spine and down his limbs.

"Oh, hey. Me, too. Oh, yeah. Damon, I, uh, I stole some of Liv's magic when I tried to kill her. Think some of it might still be in my system, so pardon me." He held Damon there and continued to ramp up the pain until a sharp tree branch flew past him, nicking his cheek. Fresh blood painted his skin and dribbled down his chin and his anger filled eyes met Cassandra's murderous ones.

"Ah, you must be the wife I've heard about nonstop for the past four months." He smirked.

"I hope I've lived up to my expectation." With the toe of her boot, she kicked up a larger tree branch, caught it and hurled it at Kai who had managed to stop it in midair just before it pierced his chest. He held up his hand and the wood began to splinter in front of her very eyes.

"Cass, watch out!" Damon gritted just as the branch exploded. Dozens of sharp stake-like pieces jutted off in every direction. The vampires and hybrid managed to dodge a few, but Kai had good aim. He was able to get all three supernaturals nailed to the trunk of a tree with a stake or two or five. The pieces of the Ascendant at Elena's feet were quickly burned to a crisp and tauntingly, Kai sauntered away from the trio. He watched his feet hit the ground and turned when there was a far enough distance between him and his enemies.

"Huh. I guess this is that, uh, anti-magic border, which means now there's a psycho loose in Mystic Falls and no vampires around to stop him. Whoops." He then continued to walk closer to town while the trio tried to get free, but it was no use.

Kai Parker was loose in Mystic Falls.

* * *

 **Hi everyone! I want to take a moment to thank every reader, reviewer, story favorite and alert I have received for all of my stories. It's still amazing to me that I joined Fanfic in 2010 and the fan base for my stories has only grown since then and has continued to grow. Your continued support is what keeps me going, so thank you from the bottom of my heart 3**

 **Secondly, I want to apologize for the lack of frequency in my updates. Please do not think I have any intentions to leave my works high and dry. I love all of you and my stories too much to not finish. I have been super busy with work and life in general, but they are all good things that are happening in my life, so I am thankful for that. I ask for your continued patience with my updates and for you to continue reviewing and sending messages. They fill my heart with joy whenever I read them.**

 **I hope everyone enjoyed the newest chapter! Please, please, please review and continue to do so! Even if it is a quick one, I want to hear your thoughts and see you xoxo**

 **grapejuice101:** Thanks so much for reviewing! Yes, something is definitely up with Ava. You will have to wait and see what is up with her ;)

 **bfireworks5:** You'll have to wait to see what is up with her, but she certainly isn't your typical baby ;) Thank you for reviewing!

 **BrittStar1199:** Good prediction, Britt! Thank you for reviewing! I would eventually like for Hope and Ava to meet someday ;)

 **NicoleR85:** Thanks Nicole! I hope you enjoyed this update :)

 **Aisha:** I would love to have happy endings for all of the characters! However, we have some villains coming up that aren't too thrilled with happy endings ;) Thank you for reviewing!

 **Queen24824:** Yes, I did here there was going to be a fifth season for The Originals! I can't wait to see what the writers have in store for us. I don't even know when the air date is for season five. Thanks for reviewing :)

 **vampangel25:** Thank you so much for reviewing! I hope you liked this newest update!

 **amazing Aisha:** Hi Aisha! I know it has been months since my last update, but thank you for hanging on and coming back to read more :) I intend on keeping this story going, so please continue to be patient with me. Thank you for reviewing!

 **hulkvengers:** Hi there! I'm so glad you stumbled upon my stories and continued to read them up until this point. I hope you have enjoyed them (even my earlier works when I wasn't as strong a writer). I am still writing this story even though my updates are not as frequent as I would like. Thank you for reviewing and being patient with my updates. I hope you enjoyed this newest chapter and welcome aboard :)

 **decadenceofmysoul:** Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this newest update :)


	10. Christmas Through Your Eyes

**The Long Way Home**

 **Chapter 10: Christmas Through Your Eyes**

 **Beta:** PrincessOfSilence

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing of The Vampire Diaries. I only own my characters and my story.

* * *

"Damon."

"Hmm?"

"You're falling asleep again."

"What?" Damon slightly lifted his head up from the cocoon he created with his arms on the table and blinked the sleep from his eyes.

"No, I was reading."

His wife, keeping her eyes down in her book replied, "Then what is that book about?"

"It's about..." Damon waved his hands around and made a whooshing sound with his lips. "Magic and stuff."

Cassandra's dark brown eyes lifted from the book and she shook her head. She went back to her book, but couldn't fight the smirk on her lips watching Damon cuddle back into his folded arms. Her husband was an awfully threatening vampire, but a very cute sleeping vampire.

"Are you watching me sleep?" He hummed.

His wife quickly found her spot back in her book as trying to hide that he could still make her feel like a blushing rose. "No. I'm watching you drool all over Ric's books. And considering you're already on his bad side—"

"I don't drool." Damon grumbled and sat up, wiping his chin for good measure. He then stretched his arms over his head and searched for a clock. "What time is it?"

"Time for Ric to update his class library." She closed the book she'd been reading and placed it on top of the tall pile she'd accumulated. After Kai had escaped into Mystic Falls, the gang could do nothing, but go to their respective homes and lock all their doors. None of them needed Kai finding out where they lived. Bonnie was still stuck in the prison world, so Damon and Cassandra decided to take it upon themselves to raid Ric's resources and find another way to get her out. Hopefully with Bonnie's help, they'd somehow be able to banish Kai back into the prison world and lock him in there for good.

"We've been looking all night; nothing in these books has any mention of an Ascendant or something similar to it."

"Well, we haven't looked hard enough. Let's get to it." Damon clapped his hands before reaching for an open book that sat just to the side of his wife. The second his grip closed on it, Cassandra quickly tried to take it back.

"No, not that one!"

"What? Getting territorial over books, Cass?" He smirked at her, but it fell seeing she wasn't even slightly amused. She then moved the small pile of books the one Damon grabbed had been sitting on closer to her, a sheepish air about her.

"No...I was just..."

Damon closed the book and his eyes studied the cover. " _Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology_?"

His wife twiddled her thumbs on the surface of the table and it had hit Damon why she was looking at that book and others like it. She was still worried about Ava and what she could be. No other incidents had gone on, but Cassandra was still uneasy that an incident of that magnitude was a coincidence. Her search had run somewhat dry for a little while, but while Damon was taking some much needed Zs, she read every book she could find about vampires and werewolves, but found no useful information.

"Cass—"

"I was just looking." She tried to take the book back from him, but he kept it in his hands. "If it helps, I didn't find anything interesting."

"Probably because when it comes to our kid, she's about as interesting as it gets." Damon placed it back on the pile neatly. "I worry about Ava too, Cass, but she's just a baby."

"I know." She sighed. "It's just that Markos was truly afraid of what Ava would become in the supernatural world. I kinda wish that dumb jerk was alive so I could ask him what he meant."

Damon watched her move some books around and scooted his chair closer to her. "Would it be so terrible if Ava was just a normal little girl?"

"No, of course not," she replied. "I'd be happy about it."

"Good." Damon kissed her lips. "For now we pretend that Ava is just an ordinary little girl."

Cassandra smirked at him. "You always know what to say."

"It's a gift." He kissed her again with more gusto. His hands wound around the wooden rungs of her chair and sharply pulled her closer, earning a muffled squeal. She wrapped her arms around his neck and broke the kiss to rest her head on his chest, needing to hear the sound of his heart beating. She closed her eyes and let the sound of him lull her into the calmness he had such a way with awakening. He propped his chin atop her head, hugging her impossibly close to him in an effort to keep the moment alive, but the buzzing of Cassandra's cell phone diminished that quickly. Still staying in her position, Cassandra put the phone to her other ear.

"Hey Ric."

"Does he still hate me?" Damon grumbled to himself, earning an elbow in the ribs from his wife.

"Ouch!"

"What's up?"

 _"Have you seen Jo?"_ He asked.

"No, the last time I saw Jo was yesterday morning at the hospital." She answered to which Ric sighed deeply.

"Why?"

* * *

"So, I asked around the hospital. No one's seen Jo since last night at the ER." Elena reported. The group of them gathered in Ric's place to try and piece together what was going on. "A bunch of stab victims came in, and one of them's missing, as well."

"It was Kai; Jo knew he'd come after her, and he did." Alaric said.

"Not to give you boyfriend lessons or anything," Damon began and Cassandra fought the urge to stop his tirade. "But if you knew Jo's whackjob brother was out on the loose and after her, don't you think that keeping an eye on her would have been a smart move?"

"And what would you have had me do, Damon? Ask you to compel Jo to stay put?" Alaric's fists were clenched at his sides to which Damon simply nodded.

"Relax, you two. This isn't a pissing contest." Cassandra interjected.

Damon and Ric both pointed at one another and shouted, "He started it!"

"I have a four month old daughter who is more mature than the two of you." The hybrid sighed and the two men were about to throw insults at each other, but Elena stood between them.

"Guys, if Kai has Jo, we need a plan." At that, both Ric and Damon backed away to stand as far away as possible.

"Plan's easy: find Kai and kill Kai." Damon said.

"Uhm, do you remember when we were flung through the air and bombarded with hundreds of splinters not even a few days ago?" His wife gently reminded him. "Kai's dangerous."

"All the more reason to put him down." He agreed.

"Okay, so we need a game plan." She looked around the room expectantly. "Anyone have any ideas?"

Elena and Ric were quiet while Damon clicked around on his phone before holding it up to his ear. None of them knew where to start. They didn't even know where Kai would have taken Jo, let alone find him and kill him. After a few rings, Damon began talking to whomever was on the other line and Elena was the first to speak up.

"If Kai's over the anti-magic border, we can't do anything on our end."

"We can't." Cassandra then nodded her head at Ric. "But he can."

The professor crossed his arms over his chest. "And what exactly can I do? Need I remind you that I'm a human going up against someone with powers. Not exactly a fair fight."

"Yeah, but—"

"Just think sociopathic Ryan Reynolds." Damon's description of Kai cut off the brunette vampire's retort

 _"Haven't seen him,"_ Matt said.

"Grunge vibe, annoying as hell."

 _"Still no idea."_

"Well, if he has half a brain, he will be hiding where vampires can't find him. So, in between levels of Mario Kart, can you and little baby Gilbert maybe keep an eye out?"

 _"Yeah, got it. If we see him, we'll let you know."_ Matt hung up and Damon turned to the group.

"Well, Bevis and Butthead are on the lookout. Anyone else brimming with confidence?" He smirked.

"I mean, this just doesn't make sense." Alaric shook his head.

Damon gave an exaggerated eye roll. "What could possibly not make sense about magical twins absorbing into one another?"

"Listen, Jo needs her magic for the merge to work, okay?" Alaric retorted. "And she got rid of that back in 1994."

"Jo doesn't have magic because it's stuffed in a knife that was stolen and hidden by yours truly." Damon grinned. "Kai won't find it."

"Yeah, unless Kai does a locator spell." Ric narrowed his eyes at him.

"That's impossible." Cassandra shook her head.

"Why?"

"Kai was born without the ability to do magic," Elena said.

"If the only way to restore Jo's magic is to reunite her with that knife, Kai's gonna come for it." Ric mentioned.

"Ric's right." Elena added. "Even if Kai can't do the locator spell, he's gonna make it his mission to find it."

"Kai finds it. Great. Love it." The blue eyed vampire mentioned as he walked over to a painting that was hung up on Ric's wall.

"Why aren't you more concerned?" She asked him.

"Because if Kai goes for the knife, I will kill him because the knife is right here where I hid it. Ta-da!" He took down the picture and opened up the back, but to his incredible surprise, the knife was gone.

"Ta- _da?!_ " Cassandra remarked and looked in the back of the painting herself, finding it empty.

Her husband tossed the painting on the ground in a fit of anger. "That little _weasel_."

"Okay, so now what?" Ric questioned.

"We go with my original idea. Ric, you're the only one that can cross the anti-magic border. That can at least get you on Kai's side."

"Once again, I reiterate that Kai can use magic and I'm just a human." He countered.

Cassandra huffed and pushed over Ric's coffee table to reveal a handgun mounted to the underbelly. She yanked it off and handed it out to him. "Jeez, Ric! Stop whining! Do you want to save your girlfriend or not?"

The room was silent as Ric stared down at the weapon in Cassandra's hand while Damon and Elena were wondering how Ric managed to keep a gun without them knowing and how Cassandra had found it without much effort. Ric frowned deeply knowing that Kai would kill Jo if he didn't step in and even after only knowing her for a few months, he knew he was in love with her and would do anything to protect her. Ric gently grasped the gun and took it from Cassandra's hand, making sure it was loaded before strapping it to the holster on his hip.

"Okay, let's do this."

"Finally." Cassandra tossed her arms in the air and gathered her bag up onto her shoulder.

"Got an extra one of those, Ric?" Damon asked curiously.

"Why?"

"Well, the first obvious reason is that us supernatural folk will have a better chance at killing Kai and secondly," Damon trailed off with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows. "My wife looks hot holding a gun."

Ric rolled his eyes. "Don't make me shoot you."

* * *

Arriving at the cemetery, Cassandra slid out of Ric's car and scoped out the forest land laid out before her. She could see footprints along the crumpled leaves and fresh blood wafted through the dead air. She nodded to Damon and he zoomed away from her while Ric hid himself behind some thick trees. She followed the muffled sounds of voices to a mausoleum and put her fingers in her mouth to blow a loud whistle. Then she disappeared within the forest to hide from Kai who had made his presence known in the doorway. He cautiously exited the stone resting place and looked around to see who had called him. His beady eyes squinted at every rustle from the bushes or dancing leaf upon the ground. Suddenly, Kai was shoved out of the way by Damon. He nearly tumbled to the ground, but managed to keep his footing.

"Cemetery, really?" Damon narrowed his eyes at him. Kai moved to charge at the vampire, but another visitor stopped him in his tracks.

"Hi Kai." Cassandra grinned, crossing her arms over her chest.

Kai held up both his hands and pushed them backwards. "Motus."

The pair stumbled over the anti-magic border and began to burn in the sun until quickly pushing one another back over it. Damon checked on Cassandra who had healed and the two supernaturals were murderous.

"Oh, whoops. Looks like you found the anti-magic border. Drew a line in the dirt for everyone's convenience. See?" Kai kicked dirt up on the ground past the line he had in-fact drawn to mark where the border started and stopped. "Yeah. You're welcome."

"How convenient." Cassandra hissed as the final burns on her skin cleared up. Kai was going to retort when Ric came up behind him and held him in a chokehold with a gun pressed against his temple.

The hybrid smirked wryly. "And so is that."

"Thank you. Kill him." Damon ordered.

"Alaric, don't!" Jo hobbled from the mausoleum holding her bleeding arm.

"What are you talking about?" Ric wondered.

"She's lightheaded and confused." The vampire assured him. "I'll give her some of my blood, okay? Kill him."

"No, you can't." Jo was now at the borderline between husband and wife. "If Kai dies, Liv and Luke have to do the merge. It's not fair to them."

"Who cares?" Damon argued. "Kill him."

"Jo, what if Kai beats you? Then we'll all be in danger for the rest of our lives." Cassandra interjected. Perhaps Jo would listen to reason.

"Ric, don't. I can win. I can beat Kai. I just need a little time to get stronger." Jo begged.

"We're moved truly." The vampire then looked to Ric. "Kill him now."

Jo was nearly on the verge of tears now. "I'll figure out a way to win. Please you have to trust me. Keep him alive."

"Ric." Damon hissed. In one quick motion, Ric smashed the butt of his gun against Kai's head and he crumpled to the floor.

"Tie him up." Ric nodded at Damon's order while Cassandra tended to a very weak Jo. She took her over by Ric's car and sat her down in the passenger seat.

"Here," the hybrid cut her wrist with her nail. "Just a little bit of this and you'll be good to go."

Jo daintily took Cassandra's wrist in her hand and suckled at the thin gash until she'd had her fill. She then watched as the skin stitched itself back together. Cassandra wiped any residual blood on the leg of her jeans and took a look at Jo's arm.

"I'm sorry," Jo whispered. "You and Damon must hate me."

Cassandra remained quiet for a while, carefully choosing her words before replying. "We don't hate you, Jo. We're just worried. Your brother is a psychopath and he knows he can beat you. This is what he's wanted all and you're just going to give it to him?"

"It's not that I want to give it to him." She corrected. "It isn't fair to Liv and Luke. They shouldn't have to merge."

"And why should you and Kai?" The hybrid countered. "It isn't fair to you either."

"I can beat him." Jo assured her. "I just need to practice more in time for the next celestial event."

Cassandra sighed heavily and checked on Jo's wound, mulling over her words. She was a woman with a mind that could not be shifted. Perhaps that was why she liked Jo and thought she was good for Ric; she wouldn't take anyone's crap. Ric was never the same after Jenna died and it was hard for him to get close to anyone because he was afraid of losing someone he loved and going through that kind of pain again. Cassandra just worried about Ric getting too close to Jo when he knew she had to complete the merge. I guess that meant Jo had to win and put Kai away for good.

"Well, then we better get you practicing." The hybrid hummed and handed Jo a water bottle from the center console of the car. "I know he's your brother and all, but I'm getting a little sick and tired of him."

Jo smiled warmly before taking a few swigs of water. The two women shared a moment of silence which was quickly disturbed by a flying rock puncturing Ric's rear tire.

 _"You dick!"_

 _"Better go fix that tire!"_

Cassandra rolled her eyes and took a blanket out from the backseat. "They are like an old married couple. Are you sure you wanna stick around with Ric? You'll be hearing that constantly."

"Trust me, I know what I signed up for." Jo chuckled just as a very grumpy Ric joined them.

"How's it going there?" The doctor asked him, but before Ric could reply, Cassandra handed him the blanket and patted his shoulder.

"I'll go talk to him." She left Ric and Jo on their own and made her way to Damon. She planted her hands on her hips and quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Do I need to give you a time-out?"

Damon looked at her over his shoulder and tossed the rock that was in his hand into the ground. Kai remained silent a few feet away from them, chained to the thick trunk of a tree. A couple chunks of the bark were gone from Damon practicing knuckleball on the side of Kai's head. Cassandra crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot, anxiously waiting for his response, but all she received was a little grumble.

"How can Ric just go with what Jo says?"

Cassandra took a deep breath and crouched beside her husband. She rubbed at one of his shoulders and perched her chin on the other. She could feel his anger and frustration burning off his body and hoped her gentle touch would lick those flames away.

"Do you remember when after Ava was born, we crashed your car into the Grill?"

Damon winced at the memory. "Don't remind me."

"Well, you didn't want me going with you because you wanted to keep me safe, but I was being stubborn and thickheaded." She continued and turned his face to look into his eyes. "But yet, you let me. You didn't try to stop me."

"I did try, but your mind was set." He admitted.

"And so is Jo's."

The vampire stared back into her eyes; as much as he hated to admit it, she was right. To his own surprise, Ric had found a woman that could hold her own and not shy away from the involvement of being part of a supernatural existence. Deep down he was elated for his best friend, but he was also weary for the pain that came with that burden was hard to handle. He pursed his lips, which his wife kissed and the worry lines in his forehead were erased. She pulled back and rested her head in the crook of his neck.

"I just worry about him." Damon spoke quietly. "I know he hates me now for compelling Jo, but he's like my other brother."

"I know." Cassandra hummed and rubbed his shoulder. The pair sat quietly for a while until an extremely shocking realization hit them like a runaway train.

Kai was quiet too.

Damon was the first to stand up abruptly, followed by his wife who was just as anxious. The skies above them were suddenly much darker, spattered with rain clouds that were quickly swept in by the swooshing wind. Leaves kicked up around them and they felt it hard to keep themselves anchored to the ground.

"He stopped talking. He never stops talking." Damon called over the wind. The ground beneath them shook and Ric had jogged up to them.

"What's happening?" He shouted.

All of the sudden the wind died out and the clouds vanished. The trio was now marching up to Kai who was standing and free of his chains. He looked down at his hands in wonderment before peering up to address his so-called captors.

"You little magic sucker." The vampire pointed a finger at his chest. "Sucked up all that magic from the traveler spell."

Kai smirked evilly and lifted his hands, shooting Ric into the air and tossing him into a tree. "A lot of magic."

Both Damon and Cassandra rushed at Kai, slamming him against the trunk of a thick tree. Cassandra's fangs dropped down from her teeth and she was going to clamp down on his neck when he clenched his fist in front of her face. She shouted out in pain, her face contorting as he hexed her. Damon shoved Kai roughly to the ground before tending to his wife. Kai watched her features become more and more inhuman and he was strangely fascinated by them. The hybrid shook the pain from her head, still keeping her amber eyes and sharp fangs trained on Kai.

"I'm sorry." His eyes were just as emotionless as his apology. "Did that hurt?"

"Not as much as this will." Damon growled before rushing to Kai with a raised fist, but he vanished.

"Where did he go?" Cassandra asked.

"Gah! I really, really hate that move." Her husband shouted. The two of them heard Ric groaning by the base of a tree and ran over to him. There were no visible signs of cuts or bleeding, but with Ric being human it could be possible he was suffering internally from his fall.

"Ric, you okay?" Cassandra questioned and he gave her a small nod while holding onto his ribs.

"Come on, buddy. Take my hand." Damon offered, but Ric was hesitant to take it. "Take my damn hand, Ric. Let's go."

Ric finally accepted and with Damon's help he was able to get to his feet. Cassandra steadied his back against the tree to support him and Damon held his shoulders as he wobbled back and forth.

"How are you two not dead?" He asked them which earned him two confused looks.

"What are you talking about?" Damon raised an eyebrow. He then followed Ric's eyes which were on the line Kai had drawn in the dirt to mark the anti-magic border. All three of them were currently on the previously marked anti-magic side. Cassandra walked up to the line, the toe of her boots just behind it. She watched the particles in the air float in the rays of sunlight that cut through the naked tree branches. Her eyes found the line once more and she closed her eyes before rushing a few steps over it.

"Cass!" Damon was immediate to join her, worried that Kai had played a trick on them and switched the anti-magic side, but both of them had been on each side of the line now and nothing had happened to them. They each took a few more steps, testing their theory and were ecstatic to see that the border was officially gone. His wife turned to Damon with tear filled eyes and a big smile on her face.

"We can go home now."

* * *

Night had fallen upon Mystic Falls just as Damon and Cassandra pulled up to the boarding house. They'd spent most of the day packing up Cassandra and Ava's belongings to move back into their home; their real home. Stefan was waiting for them with the door wide open and a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. Damon scooped up Ava who was fighting sleep while riding in her car seat. He carried her into the house and gave her a kiss on the forehead before handing her to Stefan. He cradled the baby close to him and she nestled her face in the crook of his neck. Damon set down the bag on his shoulder before rushing out to Cassandra who was still unloading the car.

"Hey, can you grab—woah!" Her request was cut off as Damon swept her in his arms and carried her towards the house. Cassandra wound her arms around his neck and giggled into his shoulder as to not wake Ava. Damon carried her over the threshold of their home and kissed her fiercely before setting her on her feet.

"Welcome home, Mrs. Salvatore."

Cassandra threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly and whispering sweet words of love in his ear. They were finally home where they belonged.

"I love you." She pecked his lips softly and moved to get the rest of the bags from outside, but Damon stopped her.

"I'll do it." He kissed her. "Go get Ava ready for bed."

"Okay." She turned to Stefan who looked slightly uncomfortable holding a baby in his arms, but to his own surprise Ava had fallen asleep.

"Am I, uh, doing this right?" He asked her, a flicker of concern in his voice.

"You're doing fine, Uncle Stefan." She smiled warmly at him. His eyes met hers and he gently kissed the top of Ava's head. "I'm gonna take her up to the nursery."

"Alright." He handed Ava off to her mom and Cassandra saw the two brothers embrace before she disappeared upstairs. She was happy Damon and Stefan were beginning to act like brothers again and not complete strangers. The past four months had been hard on everyone, but the time apart had given them all a chance to heal and now they were ready to rebuild and start over.

Cassandra pushed open the door to Ava's nursery and fought the urge to gasp at how nicely it had been kept while they were gone. Everything was in its place and she felt herself welling up with tears at the thought they were finally home. The ballerina slipper pink walls with white edging were perfectly sweet for the little girl that would lay her head down to sleep there. Cassandra ran her hand over the dresser, bookshelf, and rocker before bringing Ava to her crib. She laid her down and covered her with a blanket before kissing her forehead.

"Goodnight my little angel. Welcome home," she whispered. Before leaving Ava's room, she turned off the light, switched on her monitor and closed the door behind her. She peaked her head in her and Damon's bedroom to see he had already fallen asleep and with a little giggle, she closed the door.

Traipsing down the stairs, she saw all the bags piled neatly by the door and was thinking of bringing them upstairs, but she was suddenly hit with a wave of drowsiness. She'd deal with the bags tomorrow. She reached for her phone in the pocket of her jeans, but groaned under her breath realizing she must have packed it in one of the many bags. She bellyached as she started unzipping the bags by the door, but after going through them she was now scratching her head as to where her phone was. She walked back out to the car and cursed herself as she looked under the seats for her phone. Her fingers finally curled around the slim device and she locked up the car before heading back to the house. She stepped onto the porch and reached for the doorknob, but to her dismay, her hand was pushed back from the door. She tried again and again, but was met with the same result.

"What the hell?" She grumbled and banged on the invisible barrier with her fists.

"Cool trick, huh?" Kai's voice behind her sent shivers up her spine. She moved to face him, but was quickly met with a baseball bat up the side of her head. She hit the ground hard and Kai lobbed the bat to sit up on his shoulder. He took one last look upon the house and gripped Cassandra's ankle, dragging her away from the home she just settled back into.

* * *

 **Looks like Kai has been a very, very bad boy! Tell me what you'd like to see in the next chapter! Please keep those reviews coming :) Love you guys!**

* * *

 **NicoleR85:** Thank you so so much for reviewing dear! I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)

 **amazing Aisha:** Thank you for reviewing! Don't worry, Damon and Cassandra will have some romantic moments to come ;) I don't know how I feel about Steroline just yet. I'm still on the fence about it. I feel like the writers of the show rushed it on everyone. I hope you enjoyed this latest update :)


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